Italy, Here we Come!
by NavyBlueWings
Summary: What happens when you take one excited Naruto, one stoic Sasuke, and throw them on a school trip to Italy? A pinch of trouble, a heap of laughs, and one unanswered confession on a lonesome Venice bridge. Pack your bags, it's going to be a crazy ride!
1. Airport Anarchy

Hello again! Yes yes, you all know me as the 'not-so-one shot' girl. Well…..this idea started as a one shot….and now it's not! =) So I hope that you all like it. I will warn you that these chapters may not come as frequently as my other stories, because I want to make sure I do it right. Oh! And for once I can't tell you where I got this idea from because there's a very big surprise at the end of this story, unlike my other ones. So I hope you enjoy this story, because it's going to be about 8-10ish chapters…-looks at outline- I see nine, but you know my predictions…-sighs-. Thanks for reading!

**Warning: ****Though it will not be as immediate as my one-shots, there will be boyxboy action! –looks at impatient Sasunaru lemon fans- uh…sorry…? WAH!! –runs away-**

**Disclaimer: ****-looks between plot bunnies and my notes- Hmm…good, good…yes, ice cream, and dance clubs….Mwhahahaha—coughs- uh…Naruto ain't mine. **

**Airport Anarchy **

"Seventy eight bottles of beer on the wall, seventy eight bottles of beer! You take one down, pass it ar—ouch! What was that for?!" The pink haired girl now glared at me as if I was the one who had pulled her hair.

"Naruto, you have been singing the same damn song for a half hour! Shut up already!" Ah, Haruno Sakura was so sweet to me. I grinned up at her pixie face, ignoring the green glare.

"But Sakura, what else are we going to do while we wait? We've still got forever to go!"

"We're just waiting for the okay to leave the bus, idiot." Grr. Why did he always have to butt in? I glared over to the black-haired boy behind us, turning in the seat to face him.

"Nobody asked you!" A smirk was evident on the teme's face. Meet Uchiha Sasuke, the biggest pain in the ass I've ever known. Sasuke thought that the world was made for him to own, and everyone was there to fall head over heels in love with him! Well…okay, so Sasuke didn't really ask to be popular, but it pissed me off either way. Ever since middle school, Sasuke and I have been rivals. First it was for Sakura, who I had been crushing on since I was ten. And then she crushed on him, and he crushed on nobody because he's got an icicle up his ass. But once that 'love' phase faded in junior year, we started to fight over everything. Sports, school, friends. He just lived to see me fail. And I lived to see him…him fail too I mean! Gah, weird thoughts. I had been having a lot of those lately, and it was all the bastard's fault. Probably snuck some type of fangirl potion in my ramen when I wasn't looking.

And now, I was stuck with him for a week. I sat in a bus with forty one seniors, waiting to enter the airport to hitch a ride to Italy. Well, actually, Germany first since Rome doesn't allow international planes to fly into it. But _then _we'd be headed to Italy. For seven days, me, the teme, Sakura, and six of our friends were going to be living in the boot country. February vacation was going to be extremely boring for anyone who wasn't on the trip. I looked up at the group, instantly perking up at how many of us were able to get on the trip. Well, I knew that Hinata and Neji were going to have enough money, since they were from the pristine Hyuuga family. Cousins by their dads, the two were raised together as if they were brother and sister. Even though Neji was technically supposed to be a freshman in college this year, he had started school a year later in order to be with Hinata. It was cute really, especially since he had been offered the choice to skip at least two grades. Family meant a lot to him, even if he didn't act like it.

Then there was Ino and Shikamaru. Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru were best friends that knew each other since the day they were born. Literally. Shikamaru was born like, ten minutes before Ino in the same baby room. The only difference was Shikamaru was born at 11:55pm, and Ino was at 12:05am. Hence why Shika was older. Still, it's funny to see how different the two are. Ino is loud, exciting, and is always dragging the motivationally challenged Shikamaru around. She's also extra affectionate with him, always hugging and kissing his cheek. He, on the other hand, barely puts the energy to talk or walk. Sakura always babbles about how they're 'so bad for each other', or whatever her woman's intuition tells her. You can't really take Sakura's word though, since her and Ino were almost as bad as the teme and me.

So who am I missing now…oh! How could I forget dog-breath and bushy brows? Inuzuka Kiba was the only kid who was as crazy as me. We had gotten into so much trouble through the past four years of our friendship; it was a miracle that we were still allowed to study at Konoha high. Maybe it was because bushy brows, aka Rock Lee, always romanticized our pranks as 'outbursts of youth' that the school could not try to contain. It was pretty hysterical watching Tsunade, our principal, try to follow of all the words Lee used to cover our tracks. And then our teacher Gai would burst into tears at his pupil's speech and agree to stand by our decisions to spray paint the halls or set fireworks off on the basketball court. And hey, we weren't going to knock it if it got us out of detention.

Well, since I mentioned Gai, I guess I should tell you that he was going to be on the trip too. He was Lee, Kiba, and Neji's check in guy. Ha, Gai is the guy. Anyways, mine, Sasuke, and Shikamaru's was a teacher named Hatake Kakashi. He was the laziest teacher I had ever met, and most of the time he copied things that other teachers already had so he could read his weird books. But he was pretty smart when he needed to be, and was the only teacher (other than Gai) who appreciated me and Kiba's pranks. And sometimes, to my displeasure, he got us back. The girls' counselor was Yuhi Kurenai, one of the science teachers. And she was a babe. If it wasn't for the fact she was getting married to Sarutobi Asuma, I'd so go after her. Huh, was I forgetting any other ones…

"Naruto! Get off the bus or you'll be left behind." Ah! Umino Iruka! I grinned up at the head of the entire Italy trip, sliding out of my seat and scratching the back of my neck.

"Sorry sorry!" I hurried off, glaring at the group who had left me daydreaming on the bus. "Guys, you planned to leave me there forever didn't you?"

"Don't be upset at us for not taking care of you. You're 18 now, you should be able to take care of yourself," Ino said, rolling her eyes and dragging her suitcase toward the airport. I grumbled and followed her lead, almost tripped when Kiba slugged an arm around my shoulders.

"So Iruka said we're going to be in the airport for a couple hours. We're going to get pretty bored there, huh?" I instantly perked up at the mischievous glint in his eyes, returning it with a smirk.

"Yea, you're right. Guess we need to spice things up then, huh?" I asked, slowly looking at the automatic doors sliding in front of us.

"Well, there is this list…" I looked to the paper in his hands, reading the title out loud.

"Things to do at an airport….hmm…" This could get _very _interesting.

~**~

"Na-Naruto-kun…Ki-Kiba-kun…isn't this…this dangerous?" Oh sweet Hinata. She had never stepped out of line, which was exactly how her parents taught her to be.

"That's the sweet part about it! You can't live fully until you've tasted the danger in the air." Now I sounded like Lee…eh, whatever. I fixed the goggles I had packed over my eyes, checking the nearly deserted airport of Konoha. Because honestly, how many people flew on a Monday at seven in the morning? With a town population of 2,000? I'll give you a hint…besides the people in our group….seven.

"Tell me you're not really going to do this." Neji's condoning voice only made the idea twice as rewarding. I settled a bit into my chair, or rather the airport's _wheelchair_, looking back to Kiba and giving the thumbs up.

"I'm ready dog-breath!"

"You better hope you're a flying fox, because here we go!" I sent a wave to Neji and Hinata, who was clutching her hand over her heart, before Kiba jolted me forward. I laughed at the thrill of flying along the neatly polished floor. Finally I felt Kiba letting go. The freedom of riding alone sent me skidding twice as fast. I threw my arms out at my sides, whizzing past several of the students in our class and waving. Some rolled their eyes at the stupidity known as Uzumaki Naruto, while a few girls giggled. I grinned at them, losing concentration on the path in front of me. Turning back to see where I was going, my heart stopped when I saw Sasuke walking in the middle of the lane. I don't think he realized the danger of what was going on until I shouted his name. He turned to face me, but the distance between us was not going to give him enough time to get out of the way.

"Shit!" I shouted before jerking my weight to the right. Alright, so let's stop here for a physics lesson with Uzumaki Naruto! So when spinny wheels are going straight, they are happy. When they being to forced to try and go a different way then straight, they get pissy. And pissy spinny wheels do not mix well with Narutos and hard floors. Alright, that's the end of my physics lesson. Be prepared to be quizzed next class.

The wheelchair instantly crashed to the ground, and I went flying into the air. I hit hard into the floor, my body rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. I groaned and closed my eyes, willing for the dizziness of the fall to leave my head. I slowly opened my eyes up to stare at the ceiling, only Sasuke's big ass head was hovering over mine. I blinked once before I groaned and closed my eyes again.

"Crap, I died and went to hell. Nothing on earth could look that evil." I heard him snort and it made me smile despite the pain in my back. Suddenly three sets of footsteps came toward me; two running while one leisurely made its way over. The two running dropped next to me, a soft hand on my cheek confirming that one was Hinata.

"Naruto-kun! Are you okay?" It was nice to know that someone cared about me well being. I opened my eyes to appreciate the true concern in Hinata's features before I slowly produced a thumbs up.

"Never better." I heard Kiba's laughing a second after the statement.

"Dude that was awesome! You should have seen how much air you got. It was like someone got catapulted or something."

"Sweet."

"You're just lucky you didn't break any bones." And Neji the downer was back. I puffed my cheeks and pouted cutely up at him in a way that I knew would make Neji's eye twitch. I knew I was cute, and it was nearly impossible to stay mad at me for too long. Well, unless you're Sasuke. Sure he had the 'hot brooding' thing, and Neji had his 'Too smart for school so I'm sexy' thing going on. But only I could puff out my cheeks and _still _make it adorable! They'd just look dumb.

"Aw Neji-kun, are you worried about me?"

"If you become the reason this trip is cancelled, I will kill you. Immediately." Alright, so 99% of the time, Neji scared the shit out of me. Like now, where it was clear that he would have no problem in ripping out my heart and feeding it to his young. I shivered and pushed myself to sit up, Hinata's hand instantly moving to rest on my back in case I fell back. I sent her a thankful gaze, and blinked once when her face instantly matched a tomato. What was wrong with her?

"Not like any of the teachers were around Neji, relax." Kiba said with a roll of his eyes. Even though we were crazy, we weren't stupid…we're not! We had made sure that the teachers were still busy checking all of our tickets and seating when we had decided to pull the prank. Give us a _little _credit here.

"You wanna do it again?" I shook my head a bit and looked around the plane airport. There had to be something else we could do…aha! I spotted an empty podium next to us, and I scrambled to my feet in order to get to it. I could see Sasuke watching me while I jumped over the desk, landing on the other side and popping up again. I increased the smile as I glanced to the others, making my voice sound sweet and feminine.

"All passengers please come forward and give me your tickets. Be prepared to be cramped, annoyed, hot, itchy, and forced to watch bad movies like _Norbit _and _Glitter_. If at any point you feel like gouging your eyes out, please shut the fuck about it, because I don't really give a damn."

"You are an idiot, dobe." I glared to Sasuke for a minute before leaning over the desk and grabbing the lanyard that his passport was connected to and yanking him forwards. We glared at each other for a minute before I gave a sickly smile and returned to the sweet voice I was using before.

"Sir, I don't appreciate when men flirt with me. If you want to get laid, you'll have to ask one of the other attendants." Even though my voice was sweet, the smile I had slowly turn into a smirk. I could tell by the narrowing in his eyes that he did not appreciate the comment or the closeness of our faces. Still he didn't pull away, probably because of that damn Uchiha pride.

"If anyone wanted to touch you with a four foot pole, I'd have then tested for mental insanity." I growled and the smirk slid from my lips to his. Cocky bastard.

"You're lucky we're on a school trip or else I'd knock you out."

"You'd try to." He replied, hitting my hand away with the back of his. I crossed my arms, turning my head and tilting my nose up into the air.

"You ,sir, are not allowed on the plane." Kiba's laughter was cut short when I suddenly felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. Slowly looking up, I winced when I looked up at the happy expression of my room proctor. Whenever Kakashi smiled like that, it was not good.

"Why hello Naruto. And what brings you behind the desk of the airport?" Crap.

~**~

"Do you got any fours?" I sighed when Sakura shook her head, her smiling purely evil as she pointed to the pile in front of us.

"Go fish." I growled as the group laughed, struggling in my seat.

"Shut up! You know I can't!" And that, was because a certain porno reading teacher decided it was in his legal right as a teacher to _tie _his student to the chair in order to 'protect the rest of the community' or some bullshit like that. I whined and tried to untie myself, but the knot was on the back of my chair and all are my friends were traitors. Especially Sasuke for knowing Kakashi was behind me and not saying a word! He was going to get it as soon as I got out of these bindings.

"Ka-Kakashi, I don't think that is necessary. What if his parents complain?" Iruka glanced to me before back at the lazy ass teacher, who just turned a page of his book in response.

"His parents would probably do worse." I grumbled at the true accusation. My dad was the mayor of the town, and knew Kakashi from when he was a teacher and Kakashi was only a student. I guess my dad helped his decision to become a teacher after he retired, although I never understood why that meant that _I _had to suffer for it.

"This has got to be against some type of abuse law," I muttered out, glaring when the teme scoffed. This was all his fault.

"If you weren't such an idiot, they wouldn't have to cage you up like an animal."

"Yea keep talking big while I'm tied up, but remember I'm in your room for the next week!"

"Unfortunately."

"Naruto-kun!" I looked up when the dark haired girl sat down in the seat next to me, holding out a small cup of ramen. My eyes instantly lit up and I forgot completely about the idiot. After all, there was more important issues to talk about.

"Where did you find that?!" She blushed and glanced to her lap, her voice shaking while she spoke.

"I-In one o-of the small f-food stands." I smiled at how cute Hinata could be. It was strange that she was always nervous around me, but I passed it off. It was probably the same with the rest of the women in her family.

"That's awesome Hinata! I'll pay you back when I can get to my damn wallet." I tried to jerk my arms again before I sighed, shaking my head and turning my attention back to Hinata. I frowned, trying to think about the best way to get the ramen to my stomach without my hands. "Hey, will you feed it to me?"

"H-H-huh?!" Wow, that was a record for darkness. It was straight past apple and onto fire truck. I opened my mouth, trying to keep it open while I spoke.

"My hands are stuck, I can't reach it. Friends help friends, right?"

"Fr-Friends?" I blinked once before nodding at the weird question.

"Yea. What, you think I hang out with you cause of Neji?" I laughed and leaned closer to her, shaking my head. "No way! You're a good friend of mine Hinata!"

"O-Oh! Na-Naruto-kun…I…" She seemed to glance from me to Kiba, who simply crossed his arms and looked away. There was a moment of sadness that filled her features before she shook her head."I have to use the bathroom!" And before I had time to complain about the unfulfilled favor, Hinata ran away. I almost cried when I realized she took my yummy ramen with her. Why did god hate me today?

"Naruto if you embarrass that poor girl anymore, her head is going to pop off." I looked away from Hinata to see Ino rolling her eyes, placing a pair down onto the floor. What the heck what she blabbing about now?

"Just ignore her Naruto." Yawned Shikamaru, who I had thought was sleeping. Ino just glared at her best friend and crossed her arms.

"You know Shikamaru; you do everyone a lot more help when you just stay asleep."

"Says the one butting into people's lives."

"I am not! I'm helping a fellow woman get her feelings out." I glanced between them in complete confusion. Just what were we talking about?

"Why the heck would Hinata feel like that for fox boy?" I glared over to Kiba, who seemed to suddenly get bent out of shape. People sure acted weird in airports.

"Listen dog-breath, I don't know what you're talking about but I'm ten times better than you!" Kiba growled at me like a dog. I continued to glare even though I didn't know why he was so mad at me. All I did was talk to Hinata, not like I stole his girlfriend or anything!

…oh! I got it.

"What's with the dumb look?" I grinned despite Kiba's comment.

"I get it now. I know why you're mad!" The girls giggled at Kiba's random blush, thought I didn't understand what the big deal was. By the way he was acting; he was making it pretty damn obvious.

"The dobe actually figured out something on his own?"

"Shut up teme!" Who invited him into the conversation anyways?

"Hn."

"As I was saying, _Kiba, _you're just jealous."

"Jea-Jealous?! Why would I be jealous? That's stupid!" But despite his laugh, the blush on his cheeks kept growing. Why did he have to be so obvious? If he turned any brighter, than he was going to match Hinata!

"Because I got ramen and you didn't! Well that one's mine, so you can go get your own!" A loud bang was heard as the girls and Kiba fell from where they were sitting. Shikamaru hit his forehead and glanced to the window across from us while Sasuke snorted.

"Such an idiot."

"What? Why is everyone staring at me?" Before anyone could answer, a loud voice started to speak over the intercom.

"Flight 94, now boarding. The plane arriving in Germany, please come to gate 6. Flight 94, gate 6 please. Thank you." I nearly jumped out of my seat except the stupid wrapping kept me stuck in my position.

"That's us! Let me out, I wanna go get my seat!"

"Hey forehead, if I have an aisle seat, you wanna change?"

"No way Ino-pig, I want to see the ground when we get to Germany! I wonder if it'll be cold there?"

"Oh it'll look so beautiful! The majestic water laping onto the quiet pale shores while the earth sighs in ease!"

"Lee? When did you get here?"

"I'm always here for you my darling Sakura." A loud smack was heard before a weak sigh.

"Women."

"Hn."

"Aw they're not that bad guys. Especially when they like dogs."

"GUYS!!" I cried while they walked away from me. Why did this keep happening? I struggled for a couple seconds until I finally felt the bindings fall away from me. Glancing up to the man who had kept me locked up, I growled. "Who certified you, anyways?"

"Your father." He tapped my nose as if I was three before grabbing my bag and slinging it over his shoulder, starting to read his book as he walked. "Come along Naruto, this trip wouldn't be quite as…interesting without you."

"Alright! Italy, here I come!" And I was going to show the country that it would never be the same after Uzumaki Naruto got into it. Clenching my fists in front of me and nodding, I ran after my proctor and toward the most important week of my life.

Off we went, on the horrible seven hour trip. You never realize how much your personal bubble is affected when you get on one of those things. I got the 'privilege' to sit between Neji and Sasuke on the plane. Kiba was lucky, sitting with Sakura and Hinata, while Shikamaru, Lee, and Ino all sat behind them. I tried to get Neji to play a game, like 'I spy' or 'tic tac toe' but he quickly denied me of any fun times. Sighing, I turned my attention to the other plane buddy.

"Neji's such a hard ass." I listened for a response while keeping my eyes on Neji in case he heard me. Apparently he hadn't, because I was still breathing. But when I got no sarcastic reply from Sasuke, I looked over to see him blocking any sound out with a CD player. Instantly my eyes lit up at the thought of music (I had always been fascinated with music, but I forgot to pack my MP3 into my carryon luggage) for the rest of the trip. Grabbing the ear piece closest to me, I eagerly placed the music to my ear. Or, what I thought was going to be music. "What the hell is this?"

"It's Italian, dobe. If you plan to go to a country, you should know at least part of their language." I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"That's what the translator is for."

"And if they're not around? Can't rely on your brain, since you lack said part."

"Oh hey, I got a phrase I wanna know. 'Shut the hell up teme'. Do you know how to say that yet?" He stared at me, and for a minute I thought he was actually going to know. I wouldn't put it past him that smart bastard. But as he continued to stare at me, that stupid superior expression in his dark eyes, I felt myself squirming. Had Sasuke's face always stood out this much to me? I mean, he was pretty pale, much paler than most of the kids I hung out with. And the double dark image he had going on between his eyes and hair was kind of…uniquely Sasuke. His skin looked smooth, and now that I thought about it, he didn't have a freckle or mole on him. What was this kid, a friggen robot?

"Stop staring dobe." I jumped a bit and shook my head to rid any more thoughts of the annoying guy next to me. I didn't care if he was made from god himself, Uchiha Sasuke was _not _a big deal. The girls in school were just crazy!

"I wasn't staring, my body just didn't know how to react to something so weird looking." I tugged a bit on the earpiece and closed my eyes, listening to the random Italian woman speak.

"_Ciao. Come stai?_ Hello. How are you? Now repeat." I scrunched my nose at the funny sounding language. Did everyone sound this annoying when they said it?

"_Ciao. _Uh…_come stai._ Hot damn I sound good speaking Italian!" Sasuke glared at me as a few people, including our chaperone, looked over to me and scowled. I shooed them away with my hand before leaning back in the seat, continuing to listen to the simple phrases that the woman was teaching. Every time she would ask us to repeat I would, not caring that the teme stayed silent through it. He wasn't going to just learn a language by listening. Maybe he was just scared he'd sound as goofy as this lady on the tape did?

The hours seemed to go much faster than before while I sat with Sasuke and learned the language that I hadn't even bothered to think about while I prepared for the trip. We stopped for a bit when the food was served to us, and I use the word 'food' lightly because it was more like cooked rubber than any type of dinner I've tasted. Then once we discovered that our knives couldn't cut through the food, we both agreed for the first time in our entire lives. This stuff was not edible. So we shoved it as far away from us as we could and started to listen to the CD again. And I hated to admit it, but Sasuke's reasoning for learning the language was true. Some of the stuff was pretty useful, like asking for directions or where the bathroom was. Plus, I could impress all of the girls with my amazing new talent!

"Attention folks, if you now look outside of your windows you will see Frankfurt, where we will be stopping in a matter of minutes. Please wait until the buckle light goes off above your heads to unfasten your seatbelts. Flight attendants will be coming through the aisles with trash bags in case you wish to throw something out before landing. We ask at this time that all electronic devices please be shut off until the light turns back on. Thank you for flying with Lufthansa, and have a safe trip." The pilot stopped for a second before another voice came on, speaking in what I could only assume was German. After all, it only made sense since we were coming from America, into Germany. My attention was brought away from the voice when something soft passed my ear. I blinked, but didn't have time to identify it before Sasuke had pulled the earpiece from me, making me yelp.

"Ouch! That was in my ear damnit!" I rubbed the tender appendage while he wound the cord around his CD player, tucking it into the wide pocket of his black sweatshirt.

"I know that, dobe." Well if he knew it, why the heck did he do it?! Oh wait, I almost forgot. He's an _asshole. _I crossed my arms and glared forwards while the plane made a rocky landing onto the runway. It seemed to take forever for the plane to cruise along the pavement, as if it was a car in a mall parking lot and not a plane. Finally the plane stopped, settled into it's new resting spot, and allowed us to get off. The whole process was crazy, and that's saying something from me. But when you have about eighty passengers sitting on a plane for seven hours, it's bound to get out of control. I barely had time to grab my luggage from the top shelf before Kiba was shoving into my back. I growled at the uneasiness of being pressed between Kiba and the teme.

"Uzumaki sandwich was not on the menu."

"Stop your yapping Naru, it's not like I planned this. Sakura pushed me." I could hear a faint cry of protest behind us while we slowly pushed with the tide toward the door.

"Like I have any control over this either!" Well, that was true. Sakura weighed 105 pounds wet. There was no way she'd be able to push Kiba, me and Sasuke without a bulldozer to help her out. Once we got out of the plane, I instantly shivered. Damn Germany was cold! I almost pressed closer to the person in front of me before I realized just who it was. I slapped my cheeks to keep the blush down.

"Shit, it's like 6am here! No wonder it's so damn cold!" we hurried our way through the cold unloading tunnels in order to reach the warmth that was awaiting us in the airport. I instantly relaxed when I went inside; ignoring the shivers and tiredness I felt in order to enjoy the fact that I was no longer stuck at home. Sure I couldn't read the signs or figure out where the hell I was, but that didn't matter. All that was important was that I had made it to Europe without being killed. That was a pretty big accomplishment in my eyes.

We all settled down into the spacey area around the next gate that Iruka had ushered us to. Our plane to Italy wasn't for another three hours, which meant sleep time for most of the group. Ino was passed out against Shikamaru, who seemed surprisingly awake and attentive on the blonde laying on him. But then again, he probably slept the entire way to Germany without a problem. Neji, Lee, and Sakura were resting against the wall near the gate, though Sakura was the only one asleep. Lee and Neji seemed to be having a quiet conversation while observing the people who passed by them. Kiba was completely knocked out on one of the rows of seats, with a blushing Hinata let his big head rest on her lap. I watched how Hinata seemed extremely nervous and relaxed at the same time. It was a cute mix that I was hoping Hinata would show around me too, since we were friends. Even though I thought she was a really sweet girl, she didn't like to talk much around me.

"Hey Sasuke, can I borrow your CD player again?" He shifted a bit against the set of chairs we were sitting in, and I was amazed that he wasn't tired yet. I could barely keep my eyes open!

"What for?"

"I wanna listen to the stupid Italian woman again. You know for a smart person, you sure are stupid." I looked up at the ceiling while I stretched my arms above me, letting them fall behind my head.

"Coming from you, that's hardly an insult." I should have fought with him more, but I was way too tired to even keep my eyes from sliding shut.

"Whatever…never mind teme. Just wake me up when our plane comes." I relaxed a bit at his scoff, knowing he'd do it whether he wanted to or not. I dozed off, and I wasn't exactly sure how long I slept. You never really can tell, because it all feels like a second before you're jerked out of your hot dream of Jessica Alba in a bikini.

"Wake up, idiot." I groaned weakly and swatted at the hand shaking me. No, Jessica was just running from the water. But I was taken from the dream when another hard shake brought me back to the airport. I pushed to sit up completely, wiping the drool from the side of my chin while I forced my eyes to glace around. The group was around us now, chatting and glancing to the plane that was next to the window of our gate.

"We're leaving already?" I asked, blinking in shock. Ino nodded and yawned, seeming to have just woken up as well.

"Uh-huh. Iruka said about another 5 minutes." Instantly the remains of sleep disappeared. The second plane ride was going to be about an hour, which was way too long in my opinion. I was sick of planes and airports, I wanted to get going! Apparently the eager look on my face must have shown through because Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh calm down, Rome isn't going anywhere."

"Venice is." Ino glared to Shikamaru, who shrugged. "Well it's sinking."

"Shut up Shikamaru! You're missing the point."

"Whatever." I laughed at the two bickering friends, mildly wondering how it was they had made it through all of their lives without killing each other. But, seeing how Ino couldn't hide her smile, I was guessing she enjoyed it more than she let on.

"I just can't wait to get in Rome. I heard that the word 'romance' came from the city Rome. Isn't that so dreamy?"

"You're such a sap Sakura. As if a forehead like you will find love in the country for romance." Ino's roll of the eyes set the pink haired girl off.

"Like you can talk! Pigs are still considered ugly in Italy."

"That's not going to be a problem if they can't see me past your big head!"

"You smelly piglet!"

"You Pepto-Bismol wannabe!"

"Should we stop them?" I asked, glancing to Shikamaru. He didn't answer me for a minute, keeping his gaze on the ceiling before closing his eyes.

"Do you really want to get in the middle? Women are too troublesome."

"What did you say?!" I cringed at the death glares both girls spent the motivationally challenged guy. Luckily, the calling of our flight saved Shika's life. The girls, instantly forgetting their differences, hurried to get their carry-on luggage. The second trip was more of a blur than a real flight. This time I was sitting with Shikamaru and Kiba, so it was a hell of a lot more fun. Especially watching Kiba try to understand what the German pilot was saying. It was completely impossible, but you can't seem to tell Kiba that.

Or me, since I was trying twice as hard.

"Hey look." I glanced over to Kiba, who was pointing out his plane window. Glancing out the window, I was shocked to see the awesome view in front of me. Through some of the white haze, I could see the shores of Italy. Everything was so small, but it didn't matter. The sight was insane, and I had to hold my breath from swearing in awe. What, you didn't expect me to gasp did you?

"That's sweet!" I reached behind me and grabbed Shikamaru's arm, shaking him awake as I spoke. "Wake up you lazy ass and look at this!"

"You're way too awake." Still, he moved over to look out the window, seeming more interested than not in the slowly enlarging lands below us. We didn't bother to listen to the blabbering of the pilot, we had heard it all before. I whistled at how different the land looked from our town before I fell back into my seat.

"This is so cool. I can't wait to go explore!" I could practically feel the seat vibrating when I heard our plane hit the ground. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at my anticipation, but Kiba seemed just as enthusiastic.

"We're going to Rome first. If we were alive back then, I'd so kick your ass as a gladiator."

"Chea right! I'd so make you beg for your life."

"We'll see tomorrow. I'll take you on right in the Coliseum."

"You can't. The floor is missing now," Shikamaru said.

"What?! When did that happen?"

"Didn't you even _try_ to read about Italy?" I shook my head at his question. "Troublesome."

"Well that's why we got you with us Shika! You're our official Italy knower...person." Kiba laughed and slapped Shika on the back, who lurched forward at the hard hit before sending a bored glance Kiba's way.

"I didn't—"

"Thanks Shikamaru! You're a real pal."

"…What a drag." He sighed while the announcement to let us off the plane came over the speaker. We hurried to get off the plane, learning from our earlier mistakes and not rushing once we were in the line. The way to the airport was pretty cool, and they had trains that led you from the terminal to the rest of the airport. Italy wasn't as cold as Germany, but I still tucked my hands into my sweatshirt to keep them warm. The last thing I needed was to get sick.

"Alright guys, gather round." Iruka waved our group over to keep the chaos in the airport from distracting us. Iruka would have a baby right on the floor if one of us went missing. He was sort of like a mother hen that nobody remembered asking for. Still, he was really nice and he always helped me out with my homework. "Now we're going to go to the hotels so that we can rest up and relax. It's about 11 now, and we have dinner plans for six o'clock. There are two buses waiting for us outside. The one on the right is for the people who signed up under the yellow paper, and the one of the left was for the people who signed up on the blue paper. Once we get to the front of the hotel, please wait for your proctor on your bus. They will go get your keys and room number, and you cannot lose them. Those are your rooms for the next three days."

We all nodded like we weren't too busy watching everything around us. We scurried to the buses as soon as he pointed to it, chucking our bags on the undercarriage and calling seats on the bus. Our group had all signed up on the blue paper together, since we hadn't wanted to be separated. Moving to the back of the bus, we all scrambled to find a place to sit. Somehow, unfortunately, I ended up sharing the seat with the asshole. Shikamaru and Kiba sat in front of us while Neji and Lee were to the side. The three girls called the back seats so they could sit and probably gossip the entire time. I sighed loudly and stretched in my seat, glancing out the window next to me.

"This place is friggen huge. I can't wait till we get to see it all tomorrow." I pressed my hands to the glass when the bus started to move, ignoring the scoff behind me.

"You're too easy to please."

"Aw come on Sasuke, you've gotta admit you're stoked." Kiba hung on the back of my chair while he spoke, and in the reflection of the window I saw Sasuke glare.

"No I don't."

"Don't mind him Kiba, he's an ass to everyone." I glanced over to my shoulder to the glaring boy, sticking my tongue out. "He's just no fun is all."

"Your equivalent of fun is flying out of a wheelchair. No, I don't consider that fun."

"You're too old for your age!"

"You're too stupid period."

"Teme!"

"Oh great, and I get to share a room with these two. Lucky me," Shikamaru mumbled, leaning his head back on the chair.

"You've got the best room Shika. You get to see which one of them kills the other first." Kiba said, laughing and throwing his arm around Shika's shoulders. The lazy boy sighed from the lack of interest.

"Like I care. Either way I'll still be bothered."

"Cheer up Shikamaru. At least you'll be alive in the end of it all." I rolled my eyes at Kiba's remark, changing the subject while leaning on the top of the chair.

"So you think they'll let us go on our own and stuff?"

"Probably. I doubt they want to spend all their time with us anyways." Kiba answered while nodding. He paused for a second before sending a cocky smirk my way. "Course they'll probably keep an eye out for us."

"True true…but once they see gramps with us, they'll know we're fine." I emphasized my point by hitting my knuckles against the side of Sasuke's head, the connection only lasting a second before Sasuke shoved my hand away.

"Don't touch me." Apparently he thought I had the plague or something by the way he spat out that sentence. I sighed dramatically and moved back to face forwards, staring out the window at all the places we'd be seeing tomorrow. Even with Sasuke's sour mood, I couldn't help but grin. And to be honest, I had every right to.

Because it was going to be one hell of a ride.

**Welcome to Rome everyone! I hope that you liked the first chapter! Uhm….I worked hard, so don't be too mean on me okay? Like I said before, this is going to be a longer story than the other ones I've done. I actually have 90% of it completely planned out, so I know where I'm going with this. Oh, and this is how I'm going to try and do it! I have another story out right now called 'Therapy'. I'm going to try and post alternating chapters between the two, as in I'm doing this first chapter between Therapy's 1****st**** and 2****nd**** chapter. So please don't get mad if this next chapter isn't up until Sunday. I'm really trying my hardest because this story is going to mean a lot to me, and you'll see why. But please review and it'll make me work better! –grins-. **


	2. Rome Ripped More than the Greeks Off!

Hello everyone! I'm still not feeling so hot today, but I'm sure that I'll kick the cold out of me eventually. Lucky for you people, my little plot bunnies are immune to human illnesses. They're very strange that way…-scratches chin- well anyways, I hope that you enjoyed the first chapter, and are pumped for the second! So I'll do my thank yous, and then move off, I need to give a big big **BIG **thank you to **Raeru **for doing Beta work for me! I suck at spelling and grammar, I know =D. **Dragon 77, **Thanks a lot for my first review of this story. I hope that you do keep reading! **Pebbles of the Sand **(I went and fixed those mistakes, sorry about that! –blushes-), **Smith . Courtney **(thank you so much for the Italian help! You're a true sweetheart), **Akiru chan **(haha, yes this is going to be a longer fic than the others, so more relationship development), **xMissPepperx **(-blushes- Thank you for the compliments, I hope that I make you happy with this one too), **purrpolisprincess **(You can't know that now! If I told you that, what's the point of reading the story? Haha), **Miskie27 **(yea, I'm trying to play out their relationship a bit more in this one to see if I can make a longer story and still keep you all appealed! Haha), **a rather slytherine griffindor **(haha I like reviews that don't criticize! Haha, thank you very much for all the compliments), **Centaurgurl08** (yea, long plane rides are such a friggen hassle! I always want to scratch my hair out! Haha), **Mistress-Tsukiko **(haha I'm glad that it brings good memories as opposed to bad ones), **Searafina **( I'm sorry bout the mistakes, I went and fixed em for you! And thanks for the nice review. I'm like crack? Sweet –grins- I mean…bad! Don't 'ship me! –blushes-), **zerofangirl **(I'm having fun with Kakashi lately, making him be mean to our poor Naruto..haha!), **XxFirexdance **(-blushes- thanks for the nice comment, I'm glad that my stories are entertaining! I'll try my best to keep them coming), **mockup **(oh I promise, there will be some very…interesting things that happens in Italy with those boys!), **Kazanarai **(Yea, suuuure it wasn't…but yea, I'm hoping that this does turn into a romantic/hilarious story…wish me luck!), **norway22 **(haha, somebody's got an active imagination! Sasuke in leather? You're such a fangirl =P haha!!), **hollowsmile **(I actually do switch up the POV sometimes, but for this one I'm not…mainly because I want to focus on the mind development of Naruto and not Sasuke…but I'm thinking eventually I'll do a Sasuke POV story), **CoffeeNeurotic **(haha spoil? You all spoil me with reviews! Which I adore completely), **Exorcist-Miranda **(Ah I so wrote that wrong! Haha, it was supposed to be romance came from the city Rome. And here I'm a history major…-lowers head in shame-, but I fixed it, and I'm really sorry about that! I actually love greek and roman myths, so why I didn't catch that I'm not sure), **kat10788 **(Yay, someone actually liked that part! I like making Naruto think he gets something and then doesn't. As for KakaIru….hm…maybe, I'll think about it just for you –winks-), **sasuxxnaruxxluverxx **(-muches of cookie- yummy, thanks for the review and Ill try my best to keep you happy), **Skele **(haha, thank you so much for the big review! I love reading about the certain parts that people l liked because it makes it feel worth it. Your review made me so happy!Thanks for complimenting my character development, because that's going to be a big thing in this story I'm hoping…wish me luck!), **xXCabbageXx **(Of course he's touchy, his name is Uchiha Sasuke and god would come chill on earth before he ever let up…haha!), **crimson 69 **(I sure hope you love this story, that's my aim! Haha), **blue-nuriel **(Aw thank you so much, I actually just started to write these Naruto fanfictions about a month ago, so I've only been here for a bit…I plan to stay for a while though!) 

Alright, those are done and I'm ready to move on! I just want to let anyone know who is Italian or anything that this is **NOT **a bash on them. I actually am Italian so I know that most people are not like this. If you wish for me to explain myself I will in a separate e-mail conversation, or it will be revealed at the end. Hope that you enjoy this next chapter.

**Warning: ****This is a SasuNaru lemon story. Why do you think I call them plot **_**bunnies? **_**–smirks-**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Naruto, I'm just…borrowing them….forever….**

**Rome Ripped More Than the Greeks Off!**

"Good morning, and welcome to the city of Rome!" I glared tiredly at the speaker over my head before yawning. Leave it to me to pick the one seat that was directly under the loudspeaker that blared Iruka's voice. Which would be fine, except it was seven in the damn morning! The bus mumbled their weak hellos before Iruka continued, seeming to be completely oblivious to how loud he was. "Today we are going to take a beautiful tour of the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, and then we'll give you a few hours to go off on your own. We'll be arriving at our first stop in about twenty minutes, so try to wake yourselves up!"

"Whose bright idea was it to stay up until two in the morning?" I grumbled, glaring around the bus at my exhausted friends. Well, most were. But Mr. Perfect didn't seem to have any issues with getting woken up just four hours after we had gone to bed.

"Yours, dobe." Oh yeah. Well it wasn't my fault! Kiba had challenged me to an ice cream eating contest, and there was no _way _I was going to lose. And then the sugar kind of got to me and I convinced everyone to stay up and play charades. I don't know why I chose that game, since I kept getting kicked out for talking. Whatever, I was too good for that game anyways.

"I can't believe that we're actually going to see the Coliseum!" I glanced back to Sakura, who seemed to push past her tiredness in order to smile. "It's got to be one of the most famous places in the world."

"Well duh. Who wouldn't want to go to the gladiator zone? That's where they used to release the lions and let them eat people alive for fun." I laughed at Kiba's gross fact while the girls scrunched their noses.

"You know, there was a reason I didn't see that movie. And it was to avoid things like _that_," Ino said, sending the dog boy a look that only made him shrug.

"It's not my fault the Romans were deadly. But it's totally sick how many times the emperor would put his thumb down and the gladiator would get killed. It was like television for the onlookers."

"Apparently Kiba has a bigger brain than I thought." I smirked at the growl he gave me.

"What was that short stuff?" Twitching at the name, I moved to jump over the seat to hit him until something caught my eye. Glancing out the window, my interest was quickly taken away from the fight as I stared at the small cars parked on the side of the road. Jesus they were tiny!

"Never seen a European car before?" I shook my head at Sasuke's question, placing my hands onto the glass to steady myself when we hit a bump. The last thing I needed was to be falling into the jerk's arms.

"Why the heck are they so small?" I asked, looking back at him. He rolled his eyes and glanced over my shoulder to gaze at the idle cars that we passed.

"They're known to be more fuel efficient, as well as easier to park on the side of the road."

"I want one!" He scoffed at my excitement, which made me scowl.

"They're also much more expensive. And I doubt that you have the money to buy one."

"Yeah well neither do you!"

"I never said I wanted one." Damn, got me there. I decided to ignore him instead of admitting he won. I focused my attention out the window when the bus stopped, and I blinked once when I saw a man staring at our bus, sitting on a bike. Around the bike was a vending stand with several small items, and a paper poster with words I couldn't read. But I didn't care as I waved happily at his quizzical stare, and my excitement grew when he waved back. Forgetting I had been angry with him only minutes before, I grabbed behind me at Sasuke's arm and pulled him forward. "Naruto-"

"Look! Some guy is interested in us!" And true to my words, he seemed to become even more excited when he saw Sasuke behind me. He continued to glance between us while Sasuke scoffed.

"It's just a guy." I looked up, my head under his chin from the kneeling position he was in. Damn him and his two inches over me! If it was anyone other than the jerk, I might have been embarrassed by the loss of personal space. But he was nothing to freak over.

"Wave to him." He turned his attention down at me, a look of annoyance apparent on his face.

"No."

"Aww come on Sasuke, he seems to like you!" I laughed at the narrowed look he gave me, looking back down and blinking. "Oh hey, he's writing something on his sign…"

"Great, now you've got him thinking we can read Italian." He hit the top of my head, but didn't move from his spot while he concentrated on the sign the man was holding up. We stared for a few seconds before I pulled back a bit in confusion. I didn't get far, my back hitting into Sasuke's chest.

"What the heck does that mean?"

"How would I know, dobe?" He asked, and I paused before my eyes widened. I snapped my fingers once and turned to face him, shoving my hand into his pocket and ignoring the second hit to the head I got. "Don't touch me."

"I know you brought it. Ha!" I pulled out his cell phone before turning back to the sign. Flipping to his camera, I took two shots of the sign. The bus jerked forward, and I hit into the side of my chair while the man waved goodbye to us. I glanced at the picture slowly, frowning when none of the words stood out from the tape. "_Siete….Siete una cop-coppia così c-carina_? What the _hell _does that mean?"

"Why are you two being so loud? I was trying to take a nap." I looked through the hole in between the seats to glance at Shikamaru yawning.

"You're _always _sleeping." He stared at me for a few seconds before languidly shrugging his shoulders.

"I wish."

"Shikamaru, you are so lazy!" Ino shouted, rolling her eyes from her spot. He tilted his head back to look at her and sighed.

"You're just too active." She pouted at his reply, and the look was cute enough to laugh at. Ino seriously could pull off the pouty look when she wanted to. It was probably how she convinced Shikamaru to even go on this trip instead of staying home and sleeping. In fact half of us didn't even expect to see him until he showed up the night of room sign ups. A girl's power was unbeatable.

"Why do I even bother with you?"

"Because nobody else will," I said, laughing when the bus slowed down. Our attention was brought back to the surroundings around us as we stared in awe at the massive creation in front of us. Yea, I had seen pictures of the Coliseum in my textbooks (I _do _occasionally open them). I knew that it wasn't going to be the smallest building I had ever seen. But this massive creation in front of me completely knocked me off my feet. Or, would have if I was standing.

"You coming dobe?" I jerked my head up to see Sasuke was fixing his backpack, the rest of the group already starting to move off of the bus. I grumbled and slung my bag over one of my shoulders.

"Stop calling me that, teme." He smirked and headed off the bus. Both of us easily found the group standing around Iruka. The teacher was accompanied by a short woman, who creeped me out instantly. Her hair was black, poofy, and completely out of control. Not to mention her big-ass glasses were only second to her even bigger bug eyes. And what the hell was she doing with an umbrella? It wasn't even raining!

"Oh hello hello! My name is Aida, and I'll be your tour guide for the next three days! It is very good to see such young faces eager to learn about Italy." Her umbrella then went up into the air, waving it around while she walked toward the gates to the Coliseum. "Follow the umbrella, follow the umbrella."

"Please tell me she's not going to be like this the entire trip," I mumbled. Sasuke sent me a 'stop being annoying' look before he moved away from me to walk with Neji. I crossed my arms, glaring at the back of his head while I quickly caught up with Kiba. "Sheesh, he's such a pain."

"Who is?"

"Sasuke-teme of course! Man, I wish he hadn't come on this trip!"

"I really don't get you kit," Kiba said while ruffling my hair. I growled and punched his arm to get him to stop at the annoying nickname he had given me. Ever since the first day of freshman year, Kiba had decided the weird birthmarks on my face made me look like a fox. He only added to the humiliation by calling me 'kit', what people called _baby _foxes. Dumb mutt. "You say that you two hate each other, and all you do is start fighting the second one of your mouths open. And yet I'm 99% sure that you would practically jump in front of a bus to save this kid."

"I would not…" Would I? I paused in my thoughts at my own question. Sasuke was a total jerk, and I hated almost everything about him. He got everything handed to him, all the girls were in love with him, and his cockiness proved that he completely understood how much power he had. And yet, despite everything that we had argued and fought about, could I honestly say I _hated _him?

"Move it, dobe." Yes. Yes I could.

"Teme!" I growled at him while he walked past me, ignoring the threatening tone in my voice completely.

"Leave it to someone like you to stop in the middle of the gate." I blinked once and looked around, realizing that yet _again_, Kiba had left me alone. Quickly I ran to catch up with Sasuke, ignoring the love sick looks that he got from the women around us. Even in Italy he was considered hot. So not fair.

"Wow! Look at the elevator Sasuke!" I stared up at the glass elevator that rested snug inside of the Coliseum. He rolled his eyes and pushed me forward into the line. I would have yelled at him if I didn't notice a particular dog-boy grinning at me and waving while he rose up in the elevator. Man that guy was asking for a fight! I impatiently waited for the next elevator to come, shifting enough to get a few glares from the silent guy next to me. It wasn't like I wanted to be antsy! I just had issues with sitting in one spot for too long. So I made my way into the elevator once it came back down, which turned out to be pretty cramped with over twenty people in it. My shoulder was pressed painfully into Sasuke's, who scowled but said nothing about the cramped area. Still, I could tell he was relieved when we finally made our way out and back to the woman with the waving umbrella.

"So this is what we call the Coliseum. It was created in 70 A.D., and was once known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. Its name was changed, and most scholars believe it to be because of the statue of Nero that once stood proudly next to it. Now the Coliseum could fit about 50,000 people in it…" I started to ignore the woman's ramblings as I glanced around the group boringly. All of the girls were listening quietly to the crazy tour guide's blabbing, and it seemed that Neji and the bastard were paying attention too. Well, they were the feminine ones of the guys. Kiba and Lee, on the other hand, were looking up at Shikamaru, who was pointing to random spots of the giant building.

"And the gladiators would fight there or whatever….and the openings to the cages were where those holes are…and the cells under us was where prisoners and creatures were kept in waiting for their turns…you know, I bet the lady will be talking about this stuff too." Kiba shook his head and looked around the place as if imagining the images Shikamaru was talking about.

"We don't need some crazy old bat telling us this crap when you're here!"

"And your words are painting a magnificent scene inside of my head that I cannot help but imagine!" At the dramatic call from Lee, Shikamaru stared up at the sky, sliding his hands into his pocket while his shoulders slumped.

"What a drag." I moved closer to them and laughed, quickly quieting myself when I got a warning look from Iruka. Oh sure, Lee could spout off about the images in his head, but I can't laugh without getting a look. There's got to be some type of prejudice there!

"Shikamaru, I never saw you as the type to become a tour guide. I'll get you an umbrella for your next birthday." He sighed loudly and hung his head, seeming to mutter about 'troublesome friends'. If Kiba heard he didn't pay attention, slinging an arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. We spent the rest of the time following the tour guide, completely ignoring her and listening to Shikamaru's forced information. Despite how bored he seemed with it, Shikamaru continued to talk, showing how truly intricate the Romans were. I learned more from Nara than any of my boring teachers, which didn't surprise me. I would bet almost anything (except ramen, since you should never bet on holy food) that Shikamaru knew more about their classes then fifty percent of the teachers did. It was scary how much knowledge was stored in that lethargic head.

And I knew that as soon as the words 'walking to the Trevi fountain' slid into said head, Shikamaru's day turned for the worst. I was excited, since we hadn't been able to get out much, and the exhilaration of the busy ancient city was completely new to me. Their streets were smaller, and most of their buildings came much closer to the edges of the streets than ours did back home. We stayed in groups while we walked, Lee and Kiba continuing to bother Shikamaru with persistent questions about the landscape and random buildings we saw on the way. We'd occasionally stop so people could take photos or so the lady could bore us with more information. But despite this minor setback, I couldn't keep my eyes from roaming the stunning city in front of me.

"And this is the Trevi fountain! This is the most well-known fountain in the entire world, and it's archi—"

"Alright, already bored. Shika, show us what your made of." He sent me a look of utter distaste, but my grin seemed to make him realize how much I didn't care. Hey, I had lived through several severe Uchiha glares. I'm sure that I could handle this guy with ease.

"Nothing too great about it. Some virgin girl led guys to its river, and it's called the 'virgin water' now. Oh, and there's some weird legend that goes along with it about tossing coins."

"Oh! I know this one!" Shika and I both blinked and glanced to Lee, who seemed to have a weird glow about him. I swear his eyes turned into hearts when he glanced over to the fountain and sighed. "It's known for true love!"

"True what?" Kiba asked slowly. Lee glanced between the three of us, nodding enthusiastically.

"Our great teacher Gai told me about the tales of true love. He explained that if you throw one coin over your shoulder and into the sparkling waters of the fountain, it is a promise that you will return to the lands of Rome."

"Alright…" I said slowly, scratching at the top of my head. "What's that got to do with love?"

"That is where the second part comes in, my youthful friends. If you throw two coins over your shoulder, you will not only return to this beautiful place, but you will find yourself in true love! And your love will blossom into marriage if you throw three coins into the water!" As he finished his explanation, I watched the love grow in his eyes while they shifted to a certain pink haired girl. I laughed at how oblivious Sakura was to the stare, who continued to whisper to Ino and giggle. Leave it to love-struck Lee to know all about the romantic myths of Rome.

"It's probably just a scam to get us to throw money in you know," Shikamaru said, shrugging off the horrified look on Lee's face. "Not trying to be a downer. Just saying."

"How can you tempt fate by saying that?! Now you _must _throw three coins in or else you'll live forever alone Shikamaru!"

"Yea come on Nara, can't hurt to try. What's three coins anyways?" I nudged Lee's ribs, giving him a wink and laughing. "And who knows, maybe our lucky someone's are going to toss three coins in as well."

"Oh! I sure hope so!" Lee wasted no time in shuffling through his pockets, desperate to find the three coins that would somehow catch him Sakura's heart. Or at least he was hoping they would. I looked to Kiba and Shikamaru, shrugging and starting to search for my money as well.

"Can't believe I'm doing this." But even as he mumbled, Kiba pulled out some money to toss into the fountain. I grinned despite how stupid the myth was. We were only in Rome once after all. Might as well do what the Romans do.

"You all ready?" I waited for the last sluggish showing of coins before I turned my back to the fountain and closed my eyes. "Alright Lee, let's get us some Mclovin!"

"Spoken like a true kit." I ignored Kiba's comment and tossed the few coins into the waters, listening to them splash and sighing. Lee seemed truly happy with his toss, and I couldn't help but smile at how he continued to glance at Sakura. He really wanted her to throw her coins in that badly? If it was a few years back, I may have wanted the same thing for my own selfish reasons. But Lee was a good friend, and I wanted to make sure that he got his wish.

"Sakura!" All three girls stopped in their conversations, looking up at me despite only one of them being called. "You better throw three coins over your shoulder!"

"What? Why?" Sakura asked, blinking. Ino seemed to instantly perk at the information, seeming to know what I was saying without me having to talk.

"Oh, you don't know about the love legend?" And as Ino explained to Hinata and Sakura about the myth, I knew that Lee's prayers were answered. True, Sakura probably wouldn't fall in love with him. But there was a chance, and the smile that practically took over Lee's face was priceless.

"Thank you very much Naruto! I don't know how to repay you." I shrugged and brushed my shirt off, trying to downplay the favor.

"It was nothing Lee. Consider it payback for all the times you've kept me and Kiba out of detention." He nodded and glanced behind us, his eyes seeming instantly troubled.

"Oh, I better warn our friend Neji about the legend! We wouldn't wish for him and Sasuke to fall out of cupid's range." I tried not to laugh at the most absurd comment of the day. Sasuke and Neji? Throwing coins into the water for _love_? Only Lee would have the guts to walk over to the two most unemotional people and demand they fulfill the legend.

"Say this thing happened to work," Kiba said slowly, catching my attention. He leaned his leg against the side of the fountain, Shikamaru already settling on a dry spot along the edge. "Does that mean that we'll fall in love _in _Italy? Or just, fall in love?"

"Huh, I never really thought about that."

"Well what do you think now?" I blinked at Kiba's look of concern, which was strange for dog-breath. Normally the guy was pretty laid back, and didn't really let things get to him. So seeing this new side was a little weird. He kept glancing around me while he shifted, but whatever he was looking at was blocked by the girls throwing their coins in. Even the blushing Hinata did it, and I waved when she glanced our way. Of course, being as shy as she is, Hinata turned away while the other two girls laughed and patted her back. "Naruto…"

"What?" I looked back at Kiba, who now had his arms crossed. Seriously, this guy had too many mood swings.

"Is there a girl you want on this trip? Tell me!" He practically barked out. I stared in confusion for a minute before narrowing my eyes. Alright, something weird was going on with dog-breath.

"I'm not chasing anyone's skirt if that's what you're asking. I don't know why you care anyways." But all I received was an avoidance of eye contact. What is with these people?

"I doubt that we'll _have _to find love anyways. The coins don't stay in the fountain. Some guy was making a living out of taking the coins before the Italian government banned it. Now the coins get washed and sent to be counted and help pay for things like supermarkets and stuff," Shikamaru informed us. How did he learn all this crap?

"Doesn't mean the wish doesn't work though. You'll be surprised what type of weird things can happen in the place like Italy. Maybe you'll even score a blonde." He stared at me solemnly before turning his head away to glance at the water. Figuring I wasn't going to get an answer, I looked back to Kiba and gave him a thumbs up. "Don't sweat it dog boy. I'm sure whatever unfortunate girl stumbled upon you and falls in love will end up as your wife, begging for death to do you part."

"You should work for hallmark with sentiments like that," He said, rolling his eyes. Still the concern was gone, and I felt better knowing I had helped Kiba relax. Man, cheering up two friends in one day! Just call me Super Naruto! I better get a damn cape.

"Hey boys." I looked up at the sweet tone in Sakura's voice. Instantly I felt a shiver of dread run through me when Ino's innocent smile accompanied Sakura, while a nervous Hinata seemed to glance at anything but us. Something was up; my Naruto-senses were tingling. Aw wait, Spiderman didn't have a cape. Damn! Senses…or cape….senses…cape…

"What's with the looks?" Apparently Shikamaru was just as wary as me. A giggle too sweet to be real passed Sakura's mouth before she moved over to me and playfully hit my arm.

"Iruka just said we have a couple hours to ourselves, and we were just wondering if you'd come walk with us around Rome. Sasuke already said he'd join us." I blinked once at her request and tilted my head. Well that didn't seem so bad…but if Sasuke had agreed to go without complaint, why were my red flags going up?

"Anywhere in particular?" Thank god for Shikamaru. He never seemed to trust Ino's guiltless smile. It was probably because the two had grown up side by side, and he knew all of her dirty tricks. She soon turned the cute smile into a frown, crossing her arms.

"Damnit Shikamaru, stop questioning us and say yes!"

"Ino-pig shut up!" Sakura glared back at Ino, her kindness easily wiped away. And quickly, the two fell into a fight.

"It's not like I said anything important forehead!"

"Yea well you could have just ignored him. Now who's going to help us?"

"Well it's not my fault you came up with this stupid plan anyways. We should have just grabbed Lee and Neji when we had the chance."

"Like Neji would really come shopping with us!"

"Gir-Girls…" Hinata's soft voice brought the two back to reality. Looking at the three of us over their shoulders, the fear must have been evident in our eyes. But you couldn't blame us. They had said the dreaded 'S' word. And on vacation where money seems to just fall out of the sky, we knew that it could turn ugly within minutes.

"The last time you dragged me shopping, some old lady gave me a black eye!" I shouted, crossing my arms in hopes to show my absolute denial. Still, I felt some of my resolve start to weaken when Sakura pulled a girl move and made her lower lip quiver.

"But that wasn't my fault. And I took you out for ramen after, remember?" Well yea, that was true. She had actually felt really bad about the whole incident, and promised to buy me anything that I wanted to make amends. And of course, how could I say no to free ramen? "Plus we won't really be shopping. We just want to go look at some of the Italian shops…most of them are out of our price range anyways!"

"Well not Hinata's, since she's made out of gold," Ino said, gently pushing the blushing girl next to her. Even though window shopping was still technically shopping (I mean, it had the word right inside of it), it wasn't as bad. Still, something about this entire situation was bothering me.

"How the heck did you get Sasuke to agree to go with you?" That seemed to set in another set of guilty looks between the girls.

"Okay, so we kind of told him that you guys had said you were coming, and that you said he'd be a wuss if he didn't go." A wuss? I would have never used that word. Maybe chicken or scared-y cat, but wuss was a pretty stupid word when it came to this. Because I would rather jump off of a bridge 99% of the time than go shopping. Still, it was a plan that the girls seemed to have devised very nicely. I had to give them credit for that.

"I'll go." Wait, what? Did Kiba really just agree to go shopping? I looked back at him to see if he was joking, but he seemed to be genuinely serious. In fact, was he…blushing? Nah, I must have been seeing thing! "What else are we going to do?"

"Not shop?" Came Shika's brilliant answer. Ino gave him a look that clearly stated she was not happy with his choice. The two friends exchanged looks, one glaring while the other seemed almost amused with the situation. It didn't take long before Shikamaru got bored and shrugged his shoulders. "But if the other guys are going, I guess I'll go. I just hope it doesn't turn out troublesome."

"Well since these two losers just folded on me, I guess I don't really have a choice now." Man I hated when the girls ganged up on us. And as soon as Kiba had relented, I should have known they were going to win. Shikamaru hated to fight, and I hated to make my friends angry. That was the only reason that I was allowing Sakura to grab my wrist and pull me toward the exit of the plaza we were in. Sasuke was waiting near the exit, and Sakura wasted no time in dragging us toward a road filled with designer stores. I swore I heard the teme groan at the line of shops that didn't seem to stop. And as soon as the girls pulled us into the first store and squealed, I knew it was going to be a long day.

And it was horrible. I never realized that 'window shopping' really meant 'pull every item out and gawk at it for several minutes'. And they did this in every store; because there was just no way in their minds we could skip something. And how long did they do this, you ask? And even if you didn't ask, I'm going to tell you.

"We've been at this…for two…hours." How on earth did they all stay so perky? I was ready to take the nearest spoon and gouge my eyes out with it. But Sakura seemed perfectly content as she walked ahead of us with the girls.

"We've just got a couple more stores, and then we'll be able to move on to the next street!" The next street? There was another one?!

"Shoot me now." I hit my forehead at Kiba's complaint.

"You're the one who said fine!"

"That's before I realized how much shit was in every store! This is like a nightmare."

"Eh, it's not so bad." Oh yea, Shikamaru says that because almost every store had a nice couch that he could rest on. And since the girls took so long in every friggen shop, he could practically take a catnap. Well, until Ino saw him and dragged him toward the exit with the rest of us.

"Oh look girls! A Louis Vuitton store! We have to go in and check out all of the purses!" Ino squealed in excitement, and I turned my head to the big store in front of us. It was out of the ordinary, since most of the shops were one floor. But when we entered this one, it was larger and had two stories. Apparently Louis had a sweet spot for Italy.

"This place is amazing," Sakura whispered, seeming to be awestruck by all the random stuff in the store. The walls and floor were white, while most of the merchandise was brown and gold. Ino went straight for a huge purse, while Sakura and Hinata made their way toward a rack of sunglasses.

"This could take a while. Louis Vuitton is Ino's favorite type of designer. Where's the couch?" And off went the lazy guy, in search of a place to rest. As if he didn't just sit down five minutes ago.

"What's so damn special about this stuff anyways?" I asked, looking to Kiba and Sasuke. Oh wait, they're both guys. Why the heck would they know about purses? I moved through the store slowly, several rich looking women giving me dirty stares. What, couldn't a guy walk through a store without getting the stink eye?

"Sir, may I help you?" I looked away from the stingy women to see a man dressed in all designer clothing. Really, he looked like he was going to be on TV instead of just a store employee.

"Nope! Just looking around." He seemed agitated with my answer, but forced a smile nonetheless.

"Well if you do need any…assistance, I'll be over at the counter." I felt like the words 'watching your every breath' should have been added at the end of that accented sentence. Because really, he didn't take his eyes off of me while I 'shopped'. I should have known being in a store like this was going to be a bad idea.

"Sasuke! Come look at this!" I shouted across the store, seeming to make everyone jump. Well it wasn't _my _fault that the place was practically silent. Why was that anyways? Did they think their words would upset the purses?

"Quiet down idiot." But he moved over anyways, glancing to the small purse-thing I found. "What about it?"

"This thing is 550 Euros! I don't even think the damn thing could _hold _that much money! It's so tiny, why is everything here so overpriced anyways?" Even when I tried to whisper I was loud, and it showed by the skeptical glances I got from some of the people in the store. "I mean really, I could probably paint weird symbols onto a regular bag and make millions."

"Sir, is there a problem?" Ah, there's Mr. Hawk-eye. Apparently he didn't like the murmuring I was causing in the store. He planned to dispose of the problem quickly. The whole place practically gasped in surprise when I grabbed the purse and held it up to him in question.

"Yea. Why the heck are these things so damn expensive? I just saw some guy down the street selling a purse like this for like, 20 Euros." He laughed haughtily and shook his head, taking the purse from my hand and placing it back on the podium.

"Those are just knock-off purses. They say 'LX' instead of 'LV'." Was I missing something here? Because I'm pretty sure an 'X' was not 530 Euros less than a 'V'.

"So what? It's not like people get that close to these damn things anyways. And even if they do, why does it matter what's on the purse? It holds crap, and does its job no matter what's on the outside. Plus this thing is tiny compared to the guy outside!" My logic was starting to make sense to some of the people in the store, and the increase of whispering was making the guy nervous.

"But they're not Louis Vuitton! And they probably stole those things from people anyways." He started to get a bit snappy with me, and I narrowed my eyes. Alright, now he was starting to piss me off.

"So what? Go to a Wal-Mart or Filenes and get one for thirty bucks. Uh… if you have ones of those here. Whatever, any store is better than this place anyways. I bet they give you more patterns other than these ugly letters. Besides, when I see people that carry these things around, it just pisses me off. Why not spend your money helping a donation or something, not spending it on a purse that was made to break anyways. And I learned that from Shikamaru, so I know it's true! He's a geeeeenius." The man seemed completely appalled by what I was saying, but a lot of the customers seemed to suddenly agree with me. And the icing was thrown on the cake when a lazy voice entered the conversation.

"During the war, bad merchandise was sold in order to help boost the economy after the depression. Things were made easier to break in order for other countries to buy more from us. It was even promoted in the early 20th century. Now, computers and electronic devices are created to last only a few years in order for the companies to make profit. Dyes in clothes are weaker, and hand bags have thinner material to make them break or rip easier. So there's no difference between the two bags." Shikamaru kept his gaze on the ceiling as he spoke. If he had looked at us, he would have seen the dueling emotions burning in the employee's eyes. There was anger for announcing the truth, but the mortification of watching several of his customers sneer and walk out of the store was funny to watch. Sure they were rich, but they _hated _finding out they had been duped. I laughed at the funny sight until I was suddenly dragged from the store, yelping when the man tossed me onto the street.

"Hey! I could have been run over or something you jerk!" I shouted, to which the man simply glared.

"You are not allowed in this store every again! Do not come back." I grumbled when he shut the door, and pushed myself up to brush off any of the dirt I had gotten on me.

"Like I wanted to go into that damn store anyways. Stupid jerk and his stupid designer clothes. I hope he gets dye poisoning." Was that even possible? I paused to think about it before shrugging. Well if it was, he so deserved it.

"Leave it to you to get kicked out of a store two minutes after walking in." I looked up at Sasuke, who now leaned against the side of the store and smirked. Growling, I balled my hands against my side and looked away in a slight pout.

"Whatever, not like I care."

"You will when Sakura gets a hold of you." Aw crap…Sakura was going to lob my head off once she got out of the store. But she'd probably wait a few minutes so it didn't seem like she knew me.

"Hey teme, I kind of like my head on my shoulders. Let's get out of here before she skins me alive." He stared at me in irritation, not moving from his spot.

"And why would I go with you?"

"Because Iruka said we couldn't go off without a partner, and I don't feel like getting yelled at today... maybe tomorrow." Maybe it was the goofy grin I gave him, or the fact that he didn't want to get in trouble for letting me go off on my own. Either way I didn't care. Sasuke sighed and nodded, moving over to me while I glanced around for a place to hide. Any shop was pointless, because the girls were probably going to look there first. So I looked down the road, my eyes widening at something that momentarily made me forget about Sakura's death threat.

"What now?"

"Over there!" I took off down the street quickly, knowing that Sasuke would follow at his own pace. Weaving through the sea of people, I mumbled my apologies while I continued to stare up at the fascinating sight in front of me. How had I missed it? It's huge! I panted as I finally stopped, throwing my hands onto my knees to catch my breath. I shook my head and gazed up to the massive staircase that sat in front of me. I smirked a bit at the challenge that it barked out, daring me to climb it.

"_The Piazza di Spagna,_" I blinked once and looked up to Sasuke, who seemed completely capable of breathing when he stopped next to me. It was the first time I had heard Sasuke speak Italian before. And of course, my plane prediction of him sounding stupid when he spoke was wrong. In fact, he practically sounded Italian! His eyes stayed on the stairs in question before sighing. "The Spanish square. That's what we're standing on right now. In front of us is the _Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti__ ,_The Spanish steps. On top of it is a church known as the _Trinità dei Monti. _That was created in 1502 by King Louis the seventh."

"How the heck do you know that?" I asked, pushing myself to stand straight again. He didn't reply for a few seconds, turning his gaze to me when he did.

"I'm not an idiot." I bristled at the insult, but he didn't give me time to retort. "It's the largest staircase in Europe you know."

"How many steps?" I asked, blinking.

"138." Crap. I whistled and looked back to the staircase, a grin curling my lips.

"Wanna race to the church thing?" He sighed, but I could tell he was excited underneath the cool guy act.

"You want to get beat that badly?"

"Oh please, you'll pass out on the third step." Well I knew that wasn't true, but it was still funny to watch his eyes spark in competition. Sure he acted like he hated to 'play childish games', but he was a teenager too. Even Sasuke liked a little competition. So I turned my attention back to the staircase. "Go!"

Our paths divided the second our feet touched the staircase. He darted to the side while I plowed my way through the middle, becoming an expert at avoiding people. The first set of stairs was easy, and we were dead even in our battle. People seemed to find amusement in us because they cheered or watched in an entertained manner when we'd pass by. I nearly tripped when I heard a few girls catcall to Sasuke. Really? Even now? Women. I scoffed and increased my speed when we went up the second flight, ignoring the burning in my legs that begged for a break. As if I'd ever let the teme win for such a dumb reason! But when I realized I had at least seven more flights to go, I internally groaned. Pride seriously got me into painful situations.

It turned out I had ten flights, and I felt every one of them. My chest heaved when I finally fell at the top of the church stairs, Sasuke leaning on the side of the railing and smirking. I glared despite my desperate need to fill my lungs.

"No fair…I tripped over a girl…" He shrugged and looked out at the scenery under us.

"That's why I went to the side, dobe." I hated him _so _much. Pushing up to my feet, I moved to stand next to him, supporting my weight on the railing. Sure the stairs didn't look so bad from the bottom, but running full speed up them was not something I planned on doing again. I wiped my arm over my forehead to remove the sweat, and mentally grumbled at the fact that Sasuke seemed perfectly fine. Sure his breathing was a little off, but other than that, it was normal Sasuke.

But I guess the scenery made up for it. The sunset was just starting to make its entrance, and the clouds floated around several tall buildings. The trees were left to grow in the middle of the city, and created a serene look in the silence. Slowly I glanced back to Sasuke, his arms leaning along the railing while his fingers dangled off of the edge. I probably shivered from the breeze that blew past us, but I was fixated on the strange glow that the sunset was casting on his naturally pale skin. Contrasting with the black hair, it was really a weird sight. Was weird the right word? I scrunched my nose a bit in disapproval. No, he wasn't weird right now, he was…

"You going to keep staring?" I jumped a bit in shock when his gaze slid to me, though he kept his face toward the sunset. I scowled and crossed my arms.

"I was just wondering how the heck you knew all that crap about the steps. Even Shikamaru wouldn't be able to go into dept that much." I received a scoff and a flick to the forehead.

"I just do." I rubbed the spot on my head and turned back to the scenery, grumbling about his lack of openness. Leave it to Sasuke to be completely shut off from the rest of us. But even so, I grinned and leaned closer to him.

"You know, despite the fact you're a jerk, I guess you're not a complete asshole." This time he did turn his head to me, staring while I laughed. His shoulders relaxed a bit, and I could tell that he wanted to smile even if he rolled his eyes.

"Yea…for a dobe, you're not so bad either." Well, it was the closest thing I was going to get to a compliment. His phone rang after that, an alarm to signal we only have fifteen minutes to get back to the bus. I wasn't looking forward to the ride back to the hotel (well, I guess I should it home for now), and sat on the inside in order to try and shield some of the girls' yelling. Still, they continued to hit and scold me throughout the night, until I begged them to forgive me. I pulled my Uzumaki pout, and they instantly caved. We finally parted ways after dinner. It was quiet in our room, Shikamaru reading some book while I munched on a cup of ramen. Hey, I was a growing boy that needed to eat as much as I could. And when ramen demands to be eaten, who am I to argue?

"Have you seen Sasuke around?" I asked, slurping the noodles hanging from my mouth and moaning at the delicious taste. Ramen must be like sex in a cup or something!

"Couldn't have gone too far. He left his phone on the nightstand." At the mention of Sasuke's phone, the guy from earlier popped into my head. I still hadn't figured out what he said to me!

"That reminds me…Nara, where's your translator?"

"I let Ino borrow it last night." I nodded and scrambled out of my bed, heading toward the door. "What do you need it for?"

"I'll let you know when I get back. Oh, and don't let the teme anywhere near my food." I glanced over my shoulder at him in warning, which he didn't see from his closed gaze.

"Like Uchiha really wants your snacks." Well, he did have a point. Sasuke was really stingy when it came to food, and only liked to have certain types. Junk was certainly not on his list.

"Alright, be back before you know it!"

"I'll be holding my breath in anticipation." I laughed before shutting the door behind me, moving my way through the corridors of the hotel. In order to keep any 'funny business' from happening, Iruka had separated all of the girls' rooms from the boys. I had to go all the way to the other side of the hotel just to find their stupid room. Knocking once on the numbered door that they said they were staying at, I tapped my foot in impatience. Finally, the door opened to show a surprised Hinata in the doorway.

"Naruto-kun!" I sent Hinata a smile that caused her cheeks to darken. The Hyuuga family seriously needed to let their daughters date at a younger age. "U-Uh... what a-are you... doing here?"

"Hey Hinata, is Ino around?" She glanced behind her nervously as if the question was hard to answer. Finally she nodded quietly and moved from the doorway, letting me into the room. I nearly tripped over the pile of shoes that were sitting near the door, but quickly recovered. "What's with all of your shoes? Last time I checked, there were only three girls in here."

"Yea, but we have several different outfits." I glanced to the bed to see Ino and Sakura reading a Cosmo magazine. I stared at the hot blonde on the front for a second before Ino spoke again. "What are you looking at?"

"Why do you guys read those trashy things anyways?"

"They're not trashy. They're meant to help women deal with life better—hey!" Both girls shouted in protest when I grabbed the magazine away from them, dropping onto the other bed and staring down at the article they were reading.

"What the hell? 'Eight hidden moan zones for men'?"

"Naruto, give it back!" I avoided the grabs of the magazines, glancing between the two of them.

"You three were reading dirty stuff!" All three girls stopped in their movements, Hinata's face burning like a cherry while the other two simmered at a bubblegum tint. No wonder Hinata was nervous to let me in! "Perverts."

"No we're not! We're just curious, and we can be because we're all adults! Even Hinata turned 18 a couple months ago." After Sakura's defense I glanced over to Hinata, who was now taking a shaky seat on the bed with the other two girls. I stared at them for a moment, not sure what to say. So instead of speaking, I glanced down at the article and blinked once at the half naked guy getting his towel yanked by a lingerie-clad woman. Slowly my gaze went back the guy while I spoke.

"Why do you need to read this stuff anyways? It's just a bunch of rubbish that I bet any of your future boyfriends would tell you about when you got to sex." Sakura huffed and sat up on the bed, crossing her arms in defiance.

"Not that it's any business of yours, but the magazine talks about places that guys don't know about."

"Yea! That's why they're hidden you know. The point is for us to know about them _before _the guys do so that it's a surprise." Ino backed her pink haired friend up with a nod that I could only blink at. Did they really think we didn't know our own bodies? Ha!

"Are you two serious? I bet I know every one of these spots!"

"Well I bet you don't." I felt my smile turn into a grin at Ino's challenging words. And an Uzumaki could never turn down a challenge.

"You're on, let's see the first one!" I flipped the page over, glancing to the first header of the article. Ten minutes later, all four of us were sprawled out on the bed, staring in awe at the descriptions on the pages. I held the magazine above us, Ino and Sakura lying against either side of me. Hinata sat on the edge of the bed, too embarrassed to even look at the magazine. Instead, she listened while Ino read it out loud to all of us.

"…kiss or lick up his spine while lightly spiraling your fingers over the area. To deepen the sensation, switch to using your fingernails. When you're done, you'll see his spine isn't the only part of his body that's hard and straight." I scrunched my nose at the information, starting to flip the page as I spoke.

"That's stupid. Why do they call it the O-spot then? I'm pretty sure your spine is not able to bend like that."

"Didn't you listen when she was reading? It's because of the round part at the bottom of the spine," Sakura said, and I shifted a bit to move her head onto a different part between my chest and shoulder. Even though these girls were skinny, their heads sure weighed a lot. Must be because they're smart.

"It should have been called the L spot, since the spine is straight."

"I doubt it really matters in the end. As long as you hit _one _spot you're good." I laughed at Ino's words before flipping the page, my eyes curious as I read about the final spot. Maybe if I wasn't so interested in the last topic, I would have noticed Hinata tense at the newcomer that had entered the room.

"Where the heck do these people come up with these names?"

"U-Um…girls..." Hinata's now nervous voice didn't seem to alert the red flags in my head.

"Haha, look at what this one is called!"

"Na-Naruto-kun-"

"The G-spot!"

"The G-spot?" All three of us yelped as we glanced up, my eyes widening when I saw a familiar black gaze staring down at me. My mouth gaped like a fish, not sure what to say. Honestly, when your rival walks in on you snuggled between two girls reading a Cosmo and talking about the G-spot, 'what's up' just doesn't seem to cut it. Seeming unaffected by my state of shock, Sasuke pushed away from the wall he was leaning on and casually walked toward the bed.

"Sorry Naruto-kun…I tried to tell you…" Hinata's guilty voice shook me out of my stupor, and I ignored my heated cheeks to send her a reassuring smile. Wait, I was upside down to her. Would it look like a frown then? But if I did frown, what if she thought it was a real one? Gah, look what he did to me!

"It's no biggie Hinata; the teme should have knocked anyways instead of just letting himself in." He stopped at the edge of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest in a superior manner.

"The door was open and Shikamaru told me you were in here."

"Why'd you have to find me anyways? Did you miss my face that much?" His eyes narrowed dangerously, but I ignored it as I looked back to the page. It was hard to squelch the blush down when the article was now talking about a part of the male's anatomy that I would have never found in my 'alone time'. And with Sasuke looming over it, I felt even more embarrassed.

"You have my phone." Oh yea! That was the whole reason I came in here to begin with! I slapped my forehead and glanced between the girls, grinning despite their looks of pure mortification.

"Well, I hate to break up our little talk fest, but I did come here to retrieve something. I need Shikamaru's digital translator."

"What for?" Ino asked, pushing off of me to fish around the backpack she had on the ground.

"Some guy wrote me a note while we were on the bus and I want to see what it said." I waited for Sakura to sit up before I pushed myself to sit, glancing over to Sasuke and tossing him the magazine. He caught it quickly, and I smirked at the disgusted look he gave it. "You should read that last one. Maybe you could use that stick up your ass to get to it."

"Naruto!" I laughed at Sakura's humiliated shout. He glared but stayed silent, probably because he thought he was too good to reply to something so improper. Whatever. I thanked Ino when she tossed me the device, Ino and Sakura leaning over my shoulders while I slowly typed the words into the translator. I glanced between the phone and the translator a few times to make sure I wrote the right sentence down before I clicked the enter button, waiting until the translator said complete to click the 'okay' option. I stared in shock for a few seconds before the girls gasped next to me.

"What does that say? Naruto, did you type that in right?" I hurriedly opened the phone again, skimming the poster once more before looking back at the strange sentence in front of me.

"Yea that's what he wrote!"

"That's not possible; you aren't even _in _a relationship." I heard what Ino said, but for some reason I couldn't answer. The translator continued to flash 'you make such a cute couple!' This couldn't be right…this couldn't be right! I went back to the memory of the morning bus ride, thinking to what had happened before he showed us the note. Well, I waved, and then he waved, and then I tried to get the teme to wave but he was being a jerk once ag—

Oh no fucking way.

"Ah!" I dropped both deceives as if they were covered in acid, and I didn't care that the entire room was staring at me. I kept my eyes on the translator, my words frozen in my throat. Me... and _Sasuke?! _As a co-cou…coup…I couldn't even say it! I glanced quickly at the only other guy in the room, who stared at me with an arched brow. I felt my heart stop for a moment, my cheeks growing with color as I stared up into his questioning gaze. It was so strange, seeing Sasuke stare at me without a glare. My stomach flipped a bit at the prolonged stare, and I couldn't help but flashback to how Sasuke looked during the sunset.

A moment later I was on the move. I grabbed the translator from the bed, not wasting time in saying goodbye while I fled the scene. My breathing was heavy; from the running down the halls or the increase of panic I wasn't sure. Why did I get embarrassed? Why did my heart stop? It was completely irrational. Uchiha Sasuke had to be the most annoying, frustrating, stupid asshole that I had ever met! The entire thing should have made me laugh. Why wasn't I laughing?!

"Oof!" Apparently I took the corner too sharply, because my side clipped the edge and sent me straight into the opposing wall. I instantly fell back on my butt, chest heaving in need for air. I sure had gotten back to the room faster than I realized. I closed my mouth to breathe through my nose, ignoring the weird glances I received from a group on the other bus while they moved to their room. Hitting my head against the wall, I closed my eyes and prayed this entire thing was a bad dream.

"Dobe." No? Nobody up there liked me? Damn, I thought I had appeased one of the gods. Cracking one of my eyes open, I saw Sasuke leaning against the other side of the hallway, hands shoved inside his pockets. "You know, you ran faster here than on the steps."

"Shut up," I muttered, finally catching control of my erratic breathing. The last thing I needed was for Sasuke to see how worn out I was.

"Why did you run?"

"Why do you care?" I shot back. I earned a bored shrug in response.

"I don't. Sakura asked me to find you." If this had been three years ago, I would have passed out at the thought of Sakura caring about me. But now, it only made my squirm at how obvious I had shown my panic. Damnit, why couldn't I keep my emotions in order? I'm sure if Sasuke knew what the guy had said he would have just scoffed and let it roll off his back. It wasn't like it really meant anything; the guy didn't even know us! So why I reacted so violently I wasn't sure.

"I left your cell phone on the bed." I wanted to get off the subject before Sasuke asked me again. He could be persistent if he needed to be.

"I know."

"You grab it?"

"If I knew you left it, why wouldn't I?"

"You know your personality would make Elmo commit suicide." The sick bastard actually smirked at my snide comment.

"I always found him annoying." I paused, finally letting out the breath I had been holding during most of our conversation in turn for a grin.

"Yea, I guess you're right." I laughed and leaned my head back onto the wall, staring up above us. I could feel myself relaxing despite my moment of panic. Who cared what some crazy bike guy said? It wasn't like he knew us. Me and Sasuke were both pretty good looking (not that I'd ever tell the asshole), so it was probably just assumed we were together. Naturally when you see two good looking people together, you assume there's something between them, right? Plus Sasuke looked feminine, so I bet he looked like a girl or something.

That had to be it.

"Let's get going, dobe." I scowled up at him, and then blinked at the extended hand that hung in front of me. I hesitated for a minute, but grabbed his hand and let him pull me up. Our fists brushed against each other's chests, and our eyes locked for a moment before we broke away. Brushing the dirt I was suddenly interested in off of my shirt, I moved toward our room. I could hear his quiet movements following, though he didn't speak.

"You get my translator back?" Shikamaru asked, looking up from the book he was reading. I nodded weakly and tossed it to him, the lazy guy glancing down at the device. "I'm guessing you got your answer then."

"Yea." The room fell quiet after that, all three of us silently deciding that recovering our sleep from the day before was more important than talking. I curled on my side, waiting for the memories of today to fade in the darkness of sleep.

It was the start of something nobody could have predicted.

**Well? I certainly did not expect this chapter to be so long! Not that I'm really complaining since it was fun to write, but still! So I hope that you liked it, because I tried to make it interesting. And I couldn't help but add a little competition between Naruto and Sasuke. =D Even if my boy did lose! Haha, so I hope you're excited for the next chapter now! And since I actually know where this story is going, I can even tell you the name of the next chapter! So I hope you review! **

**Chapter Three: ****Pizza, Pups, Pompeii, oi vey!**


	3. Pizza, Pups, Pompeii, oi vey!

Hello! I started to write this a couple days ago, but then I read the newest installment of Naruto and I went crazy! Haha, if you haven't read it, then you have to! I was wicked sad after I read it, because I didn't really think it justified the main character of the chapter well. It was just too quick and it made me really really sad –sniffles- so this chapter is dedicated to her! And you guys, of course. **Blood Zephyr, **thanks for my first review! You sure were fast. **Pebbles of the Sand **(haha wouldn't you like to know? And yea, sorry bout that slip up, thanks for the compliments), **kat10788 **(I'm glad you liked that line! Finally some of my little humor gets recognized =P), **miskie27 **(haha, poor Naru doesn't even realize hes the submissive one even as he reads a girly magazine), **zerofangirl **(I'm glad you're enjoying both of my stories, it makes me happy to know I can write two diff stories and still catch your attention!), **CassieDoesntJumpXD **(yea, the bike guy is a very observant man that can apparently predict the future), **Kazanrai **(haha he shouldn't be selling stuff on the street, he should be playing matchmaker with that eye!), **a rather slytherin griffindor **(haha don't stress yourself If you don't get to them right away, I know you're reading them and it makes me happy either way), **XxFirexDance **(I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and I'm hoping that this one is just as good!), **xSasuxNaruxForeverX **(haha this is going to be a cuter story compared to Therapy, so don't worry about that!), **jeeniebeenie **(poor Naru, he'll be in the middle of it with Sasu and he'll be trying to find the spots, and Sasu's going to jus t roll his eyes and take over anyways), **CoffeeNerotic **(yay, I'm creating a sweet/informative story all in one! I'm very happy you like the story so far), **Disgruntled Minion **(yea I never got it either, which is why it was so easy for me to write Naru's opinion on it. And yea, that poor guy was only trying to make people feel welcome and started trouble without even realizing it), **norway22 **(haha poor you, I didn't meant to distract you from your studies! But yea, let's hope our two not-knowing love birds find their way to that 'spot' XD), **Chipfest **(even if he doesn't want to admit it, he knows they would make sure a hot couple!), **Searafina **(oh please, Naruto could run but Sasuke's faster and would deff catch up to him…well, if he put the effort into actually chasing the dobe)**, Meiyachi **(thanks for the compliment! I'm trying to keep Sasuke like how he is normally, but when you're doing romance its pretty damn hard haha), **Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(Well you know that no matter what they do, they have to make it into a damn competition), **Sakurananachan**(yea, they are going to be a hard relationship to actually get together, but I'm going to try my damnest! And I don't know, do you think he threw them in? –grins-), **hollowsmile **(thanks for the review! And I'm not telling if he did or didn't, but theres a clue as to how much Italian our little Sasu knows in this chapter), **adsf **(Naru's going to need a lot of hints to get it through his thick head that he wants Sasu haha), **Exorsist-Miranda **(haha I'm glad that you liked my title and how the pace of the story is going, and I just find it funny how much the Romans stole from the Greeks so I thought 'eh, why not'), **Itooshi Koneko **(haha lazy reviewer! xD anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll neeever tell who else knows what the Italian guy said…well, not till the end of the story), **cluelessninja65 **(haha yea, looking at a half naked guy when theres a woman in skimy undergarments should be proof that something in your head is a little different), **Chiru-lili **(Well yea, I'm planning on having some hints about Kakashi and Iruka, just because they're fun to use! There's a lot of minor pairings, but it'll be like only if you really read it you'll get it =) so be on the lookout) **Chiaki Megumi **(haha when strangers are calling you a couple, you should know that something is off…and I only know a tiny bit of Italian, I mainly double check with other people), **Akiru chan** (oh I know, last lines are always so friggen annoying! Haha but I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and there's more chaos where that came from!), **ISpeakSquirrelSqueak**, (haha I love you name! It's too cute. And thanks, I'm glad that you like the story!), **Lydia-chan **(yea, leave it to Naruto to think he's a superhero. Only he would get in an argument about a cape or naru-senses haha!), **blue-nuriel **(well honestly, could you see any of the other guys doing that and somehow still being in character? I think not =P), and **lemonseatmybrain **(haha I'm sure there are others out there that are better than me, but thanks so much for the compliment!)

Okay, not onto the actual story! Thanks again to **Rachel-Chan **for checking my crappy grammar and stuff.

**Warning: ****Definition of sexy: ****marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest…-glances to Sasuke and Naruto) hmm…yup yup, deff boyxboy sexiness!**

**Disclaimer: ****-glares to glitch screen- damnit…not only do I not own Naruto, but I can't even pretend now -gnaws on computer screen-**

**Pizza, Pups, Pompeii, Oi Vey! **

"Sasuke! Get your ass out of the bathroom before I come in there and drag you out!" How did I end up getting the last shower twice in a row? I banged my fist onto the door when I heard him snort. "Damnit teme!"

"Stop waking up so late." He said through the door, and I scrunched my nose in irritation. So I wasn't a morning person, big deal. That didn't mean I should always get shafted with the last shower. And if either of my roommates had any type of conscious in them, they'd wake me up!

"The bus leaves in fifteen minutes!" I whined out, trying to annoy him to the point that he would open the door. The door remained closed, showing my attempt had failed.

"You're not going to get anywhere." I sent a glance to Shikamaru, who had already taken his shower and was leaning back on his bed. Even the lazy kid got up before me. Actually, he had gotten up after Sasuke, but for _some _reason, Sasuke had let Shikamaru go before him. I swear the kid had a page full of ways to torture me during this trip.

"I'll just blame it on Sasuke if I'm late. He takes longer than a girl. I knew that duck-butt hairdo wasn't normal." I rattled the doorknob, not that it really mattered. The privacy freak made sure the door was locked no matter what he did in there. Which could be very, as Shikamaru would say, 'troublesome' when I had to take a leak. Seriously, who locked the door to brush their teeth anyways? I glared down at the small lock that taunted me, and I continued to stare until I got an idea. Oh yea, and it was positively evil.

"What are you doing?" I ignored Shikamaru's question as I moved over to my bag, searching through my bag until I found a bottle of toothpicks I had brought. The most annoying thing was getting food stuck in my teeth after eating. And now, they became much more useful. I practically beamed with evil intent while I moved toward the door, pressing the toothpick into the small hole in the doorknob. Really, they made these locks way too easy to break into. As it was, the key was only a piece of cylinder copper with a small hoop at the end to keep it from getting stuck in the lock. Cheap bastards actually paid off, especially when I heard the click of the door unlocking.

"Success!" I shouted, shoving the door open in order to knock the teme out. Unfortunately, I was not planning on walking in on what I did. I mean I should have, since it was a bathroom, but I was more focused on getting my shower done than realizing my own stupidity. A dripping mane of black jerked up, giving a steam flushed face the ability to look at me. A scantily small towel barely clung to slim hips. The rest of the teme was bare. And _wet_. My eyes widened as I tripped over my feet from shock, hitting into the door and knocking it wide open while I fell into the ground. His hand quickly gripped onto the knot holding onto the towel, probably to make sure that it wouldn't fall. I shivered a bit at the small trail of water that dripped down his stomach. A stomach that I had seen 100 times between summer parties and after gym class. A stomach that never bothered me before. A stomach that was now making my face flush when the line of water disappeared into a white terry cloth.

Yeah, seeing Sasuke practically naked in the morning was not something I stenciled into my planner. Quickly I covered my face to keep myself from going blind... or showing my blush. Something like that. For some reason, my brain didn't feel like working.

"Well that was a site I could have gone without." I heard Shikamaru from the other room, but I was too scarred from the earlier sight to look.

"What are you doing?"

"What am _I _doing? What are you doing naked?!"

"I just took a shower, dobe."

"That's no excuse!" He arched an eyebrow slowly, or he probably did. I still had my hands on my face.

"Get out." Suddenly, that didn't seem like a bad idea. I shoved myself onto my feet and ran from the room, a shower being the last thing I wanted to think of. I didn't stop until I had my face buried into the pillow of my temporary bed and I heard the sharp bang of the door behind me. The room fell silent for a minute, but my heartbeat filled my ears. It was stupid, really. I had seen guys naked before. I mean honestly, I had been on several sports teams. Seeing Sasuke like that shouldn't have been a big deal, but apparently, this trip wasn't about what 'shouldn't' happen.

"Smooth, Naruto." Shikamaru said, flipping the page of his book. "Real smooth."

"Shut up Shika!"

"Next time you plan to peep on Sasuke, give me a warning. I don't need to start my day off like that." Even though I was angry, my cheeks wouldn't obey my command to stop changing colors. Seriously, I felt like I had blushed more in the past 24 hours that I had in my entire life. The gods were out to get me.

"Trust me it won't be happening again," I muttered, barely understandable through the pillow.

"Whatever." I could hear Shikamaru move from the bed, probably to grab his bag. I wasn't lifting my head until my body was back under control. I ended up taking the quickest shower of my life, making sure to keep my gaze completely off of Sasuke when he emerged from the bathroom. And they two didn't even wait for me to get changed before they headed to the bus. You'd think the jerk would actually wait for me, since he was the reason I was going to be late.

Luckily, Iruka was too distracted with trying to talk to the bus driver that I managed to get on without getting yelled at. I got a warning look from Kakashi, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he continued to read from the 'educational' book he had brought onto the bus. Yeah, like he was really fooling anyone with that.

"It's about time you got here; I thought you had drowned yourself in the shower." I sat down in the bus seat and looked back to Kiba, who was currently fiddling with his CD player.

"Believe me, after seeing what I saw today, the idea was pretty damn tempting," I muttered, sending a glare to Sasuke. Unfortunately he wasn't paying attention, his interest focused on the window. Fine, two people could play that game. I turned my attention to Kiba and Shikamaru. "Anybody know where we're going today?"

"Pompeii," Shikamaru mumbled. I thought I remembered that place from history class. I felt the bus move under me and I turned back to face forward while Iruka rambled about our plans for the day. Really I was too busy trying to remember the ancient city to actually pay attention. The plans must not have been long because the bus easily jerked forward, driving us to wherever Pompeii was. The ride was long, much longer than I actually anticipated. The bus was quiet, mainly because the earliness of our trip made most people fall asleep twenty minutes into the trip. I was never really able to sleep when we were moving, because I had nothing to lean on. Well, there was _one _thing, but there was no way I was going to do that. Like he'd ever let me anyways. Said person was still looking out the window, his CD player resting on his lap. Why the heck wasn't he listening to it anyways?

"You want something, dobe?" I jumped a bit, but quickly covered myself with a stretch of my arms over my head.

"What's the point of bringing a CD player if you aren't going to listen to it? And what type of music do you listen to anyways? Unless it's the Italian CD." He looked down at the device on his lap and sighed.

"Better to be prepared than needful." I pouted a bit at the truth of his words. I had forgotten mine on my bed because I was in a rush. By the way Sasuke looked at me; it was obvious he knew that. Jerk.

"Doesn't explain why you keep it off."

"I don't need it."

"How are you not bored?!" He sent me a glare and immediately I realized why. My voice went straight through the room, but luckily nobody woke up.

"Because, I can keep myself occupied without noise." His voice was barely above a murmur as he looked up at the window again.

"Funny," I whispered sarcastically. We fell quiet while the landscape passed by our speeding bus. It was beautiful really; much different than our hometown. It took me a moment to realize it was the first time I had really left Konoha. Sure I went out to the other towns at night, but I always ended up back home. Italy was my first big step into the world. "Hey Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Is this your first time leaving home?" Sasuke shook his head quietly, which shocked me. When the heck did Sasuke leave? I tried to think back to a time when Sasuke wasn't in Konoha, but an unsettling fact came to my head. Besides school and the occasional event, I never saw Sasuke. Well, I guess it made sense. We were enemies after all. Right?

"No, it's not."

"Wow really? Where else have you gone?"

"I've been to Paris." My eyes shot open while Sasuke shrugged. "I went for a summer with my art group."

"Art group?" Since when did he do art? Any time I had seen him, he was completely lacking paintbrushes or sketches.

"Outside of school."

"When did you get into art, teme?" Another shrug and bored stare out the window was his answer. "How many art classes have you taken?"

"Why do you care?" He seemed easily irritated with my probing, but it didn't stop my curiosity.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Why should I? It's my life, not yours." He turned, and it almost felt like a sheet of ice went between us. I could see him, yeah. And sure, if he spoke again I could hear him fine, but…I felt like I couldn't feel him. Like somehow, he was out of reach for me. How much of Uchiha Sasuke was hiding? It set off some restlessness in my stomach while I looked to my lap. Well, I knew he was my age. He lived in Konoha with me all of our lives. He didn't like junk food, from his obvious distaste in my ramen. People liked him, but I couldn't figure out why. He liked art apparently. And…was that really it? I winced and glanced over to him from the corner of my eye. Why did I feel like he knew so much more about me, than I did him? I guess I could blame it on the fact I spoke more. Plus, I didn't hide things I was good at. So what made Sasuke stay so reserved?

I didn't speak to Sasuke again until we entered the modern city of Pompeii. I guess there was a difference between ancient and modern Pompeii, but I couldn't remember why. The lively city was small, but not boring, because hovering in the horizon was a huge mountain. I stared while we drove toward it, and my excitement grew as I started to shake Sasuke.

"Hey, what's that?"

"You don't even know what Mt. Vesuvius is? You really are an idiot."

"Aw come on teme! Don't be a jerk and just tell me!" When he ignored my request, I growled and turned to face my second source of information. My eye twitched a bit when I realized Shikamaru was still sleeping. "Wake up you lazy ass! It's been three hours!"

"Why…are you yelling?" I tensed a bit as I slowly turned my head to look at Neji, who had one pale eye trained on me. I swallowed weakly before I smiled, waving a bit.

"Good morning Neji. How was your catnap?" He continued to stare at me, and sometimes I wondered if I enjoyed to playing with my life. "I'll make you some blueberry pancakes for breakfast, sweetie."

"Sometimes I wonder how stupid you can become." I ignored the insult as I grinned, leaning over the armrest of my seat to tap his forehead. Yup, I was the kind of guy who would play ding-dong-ditch at the grim reaper's door.

"You get a wrinkle right here when you grimace like that."

"There is a reason Pompeii is called 'The lost city'. People can disappear without anyone knowing." Neji's fact instantly scared me, and I jumped a bit despite my need to brush it off. You would, too, if you had spooky eyes staring at you! I already could see my funeral flashing through my head…oh wait, they wouldn't have a damn body to bury! Well, I'm sure somebody had a picture of me or something. A ramen cup, perhaps?

"Stop scaring him. That's not why it's called 'The lost city' and you know it. Now he's going to have nightmares and keep me up all night." I perked and peeked over my seat at Shikamaru, who seemed to waken from the conversation. Then again, the only person who seemed to sleep through it was Lee. Which was odd, since he was sitting right next to Neji.

"Finally you're awake! You people sleep way too much."

"Did you ever think you-"

"Don't care! Tell me about Mt. Vesuvius!" Shikamaru looked out to where I was pointing, obvious irritated with my interruption. Still, the last thing I needed was to be lectured.

"That's the volcano that buried the city of ancient Pompeii in 79A.D.. It's said that the eruption lasted almost 20 hours, and completely covered the city and encased anything inside of it with ash. Mouth Vesuvius didn't fall dormant. It continued to erupt sporadically. One eruption, in 1631, killed just as many people as the Pompeii incident. Back in Ancient times, the skies were completely blackened with the smoke and ash. It took several days for all of it to clear, and now the stupid volcano is just rebuilding again for another explosion, probably a lot smaller and a long way from now."

"That's awesome! The entire sky?" Kiba asked. Shikamaru nodded, and I probably would have felt the same excitement that Kiba did except a morbid thought came to mind.

"Wow…so how many people died?" I asked slowly. Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes.

"They attribute about 3500 deaths with the actual explosion. Most were killed from suffocating on the ash, but the people who hide in their houses probably got crushed by the collapsing of their roofs." I stared in shock at Shika's explanation, and turned my head to look back at the dangerous creation. All of that death came from just one explosion? I closed my eyes and tried to picture what it would have felt like to be there. No matter where the people went, they were probably doomed. I closed my eyes tighter for a minute before opening them to gaze at the now silent killer.

"Does anyone know when it's going to explode again?"

"It could be several hundred years. We'll all probably be gone by the time it comes back around," Shikamaru said, shrugging.

"Alright, enough with the death stuff. I can't wait to get to the pizza shop." Kiba's barking tone caught my interest and helped shake away some of the sadness I was feeling.

"Pizza? When are we going there?"

"Didn't you listen to Iruka? He said we were going to grab lunch before we went to see Pompeii, and then we'd have dinner at the hotel tonight." I laughed while scratching behind my ear.

"Of course I heard him! I just forgot, is all."

"Sure ya did kit." I closed my eyes when Kiba hit my forehead with his palm. Stupid dog breath and his dumb nick names. But I didn't have time to comment back before the bus came to a slow stop in the middle of a street. We glanced around in excitement at the town around us because it was strange and yet welcoming. Sure, Rome was filled with huge monuments and stuff, but this town seemed to be a tiny part of Italy that didn't always see the hustle of the big city. You'd think when you went to another country, everything would change. In reality, the places and scenery is just different. But if you put the name Los Angeles in place of Rome, and my town in the place of modern Pompeii, there wouldn't be much difference in the atmosphere.

"Alright class, we're at the pizza parlor that we will be having our first Italian pizza! Now please stay on the bus while Kakashi and I go talk to the owners of the shop to make sure everything is set up for us. We'll be back in a few minutes." Iruka waved while Kakashi gently nudged him down the stairs. The silver haired man gave one last look to our group, as if silently repeating what Iruka had said. Man, did everyone think we were going to break the rules? I huffed and looked back out the window, glancing at the small area we were in.

In no time I found myself sitting at a long table that went across the entire restaurant. Our bus sat at this one, while the other bus sat at a table on the other side of the restaurant. Sasuke was to my left, Kiba to my right, and Shikamaru and Neji in front of me. Somehow Lee managed to score a spot between the girls, and the four of them continued to laugh and talk about a topic too quiet for me to listen in on. Our side of the table seemed to be quiet, which seriously bugged me. I was _lucky _enough to sit with such chatty people.

"Damnit, why didn't I sit with the girls? I could be having a blast right now." I only looked down for a second before a sharp pain jerked my head forward. I glared quickly between the two people next to me, trying to figure out which one had actually hit me. Of course with Kiba laughing and Sasuke cockily smirking, it became quite clear. "Teme!"

"Stop making stupid remarks. People with intelligence need the air." I grumbled under my breath about the brain cells he had killed, but my anger was quickly overshadowed at the smell of something intoxicating being placed in front of me. I glanced down and practically drooled at the first sight of food I had seen all day. The cheese looked heavenly, and it took all of my will power not to shove the entire thing into my mouth. Instead, I grinned up at the server who was giving it to me.

"_Grazie_," I said, and I seemed to shock the old man. He instantly broke out into a smile and grabbed my hand, laughing deeply. His happiness seemed to rub off of me, because I smiled and started to laugh too. He repeated the action once Sasuke used the native language to thank him, and the two actually shared a few words I couldn't completely follow. I knew from what the CD had taught me that the guy had complimented Sasuke, but I couldn't remember exactly what he said. Still, the stoic boy nodded silently while the joyous man continued to pass out of the food down the table.

"Since when did you two learn Italian?" Kiba asked, pulling an Uchiha and lifting his eyebrow. I tried to brush it off while to took a bite from the pizza and savored the excellent taste. Apparently The U.S.A had nothing on Italy when it came to pizza.

"Some CD Sasuke brought on the plane." Was my intelligent answer while I continued to shove my face with pizza.

"So that's how you got him to quiet down, Uchiha." But even Neji's comment couldn't take my concentration away from the food in my mouth. Easily the pizza was devoured, and I sighed in pure contentment. Really, it should be illegal to taste that good. Now if they made a Ramen pizza….my heart skipped a beat.

"Oh look, the gracious owner is bringing out more pizzas for us to enjoy." At Lee's excited cry, I glanced up to watch another round of pizzas come from the kitchen, I shouted my thank you before the pizza was even placed on the table, and it was a good thing I did too. I nearly cursed in shock from the strange creation that sat in front of us. The pizza was the same, except it was now decorated with bright green leaves and chunks of tomatoes. I pressed my lips together at the strange food in front of me, but nobody seemed to mind the disgusting vegetables on their food. Sasuke actually seemed to enjoy the second piece much more than the first. Well, I always knew there was something wrong with him.

"What's the matter kit? Scared of a little greenery?" I shot my gaze over to Kiba, who didn't seem to have any issue with biting into the exotic pizza. Somehow I made a face that caused him to grin. "You know, it's pretty damn good. Then again, your lack of anything healthy would probably make you sprout leaves if you ate vegetables."

"It would not! And I'm not scared of any stupid leaves or tomatoes. That'd just be dumb." Still he seemed to take pleasure in biting nice and slow into the gross looking vegetables. Well, tomatoes were actually a fruit (Shikamaru said so), but they were still gross.

"So then eat. I know you're not full yet." I pulled back a bit at the challenge, looking down at the pizza in front of me. I had to really eat it? But it…was green! And were those leaves even edible? I remember my parents telling me to not eat the leaves off the trees, so shouldn't the same rule apply to my pizza? Still, the taunting grin that Kiba was sending me made my mouth operate without my brain's consent.

"I'll eat the whole damn piece!" Apparently thinking wasn't on the agenda today, either, because I took the pizza by the crust and shoved it into my mouth. As in, the _whole _piece. Quickly I learned that you have to chew, or else the food gets permanently lodged into your throat. I started to choke, which was hilarious to anyone but the chocking boy. Kiba was practically in tears, while Neji smirked and Shikamaru sighed. And yet none of them friggen helped me!

"Idiot." I felt a few hard hits on my back, and it caused the now mushy food (yea, try eating with that image in your head!) to rip apart. Half flew down my throat while I spit the other half into my napkin. The hand on my back slowly unclenched and rested along my spine, as if checking for any more distress signs. I chugged down the water in front of me to clean out any food left in my throat. There was no way I was going to risk my life again for a stupid bet!

Well, not today anyways.

"Aw Sasuke, you should have waited until he turned blue!" If I wasn't so shocked about hearing who had just saved me, I would have attacked Kiba. I glanced over to Sasuke, my eyes staying wide while his hand slipped away from my back to rest back on the table. He didn't look me in the eye, settling for a quiet glare to Kiba before he started to drink his water. Out of all the people at the table, Sasuke was the last one I would have guessed to save me. Then again, I didn't expect Kiba to think me dying was comedic relief. I was just learning a whole bunch of crap today!

"Uh…thanks teme." Sasuke didn't acknowledge my gratitude, instead, opting for annoying silence. It was only a few seconds later that Iruka called us back to the bus, and we were finally on our way to the frozen part of Pompeii. It didn't take long to get there, and the ruins were easy to distinguish from the modern city. The moss crept along the edges of the broken buildings, the only living part of the dead city. The bus stopped near the gate toward the city, and Iruka and Kakashi moved off the bus again. They said something about waiting for the tour guide, but I was too distracted with the semi visible ruins to really pay attention. One of the guys could fill me in if I needed them to.

Even though I was interested in the hidden city, my eyes darted over to a small moving object in the middle of the road.

"Hey…is that a puppy?" No sooner did the words leave my mouth than a rush of wind went past me. I looked in the seats in front of me to see the girls all huddled in the window, instantly drawn to the dirty looking mutt. I didn't mean to make a scene, but I knew I should have kept my mouth shut as soon as Sakura started to coo.

"Aw, isn't he so cute?!"

"I wanna take him home with me!"

"H-He's so ti-tiny…" Even Hinata seemed to admire the scrawny little thing in front of us. I scrunched my nose a bit when I looked at what could probably be considered an oversized rat. Its fur was matted and old, while the little thing could only weigh five pounds. In fact, I bet the fur made it seem bigger than how wimpy the little rat-pup actually was.

"I forgot Pompeii had so many stray dogs. Normally they hang around the old city looking for scarps and stuff. Most of them are people friendly, because of all of the tourists. Even in Ancient Pompeii, there was a large sum of dogs kept in the village. It's almost a connection between the past and present." Shikamaru explained, seeming to be genuinely interested in the pup on the street.

"Poor thing, it's a stray." Hearing the slight sadness in Sakura's voice, I sighed.

"Well, that's a part of life. Sometimes the tough only get tough by not getting all their cards dealt to them. But I bet that pup is getting strong and learning how to fend on its own with any support from other people. I bet it even likes being alone now!" And of course, the gods saw this as an opportunity to make my life cruel. As soon as the words slipped from my mouth, the little pup wobbled and fell onto its side. The bus fell silent, and I stared in shock when the dog did not get back up.

"Oh…oh…oh my god!!" Sakura screamed, with the highest pitched allowed on planet earth. Ino was quick to imitate.

"Naruto killed the dog!"

"I what?! I'm in the bus!"

"You jinxed it Naruto! Now the puppy is dying and nobody is going to take care of it. It's going to get hit by a car and die!" Ino shouted. I panicked slightly when I saw tears start to enter my pink haired friend's eyes. Ino practically sobbed for the dog that I 'killed', and Hinata's eyes were wide with fear. Trying to settle the girls down, I quickly threw my hands up in an easing motion.

"N-No! The dog isn't dead! It's just sleeping, right Shikamaru?"

"Looks dead to me."

"Nara!!" I hissed, cringing when both Sakura and Ino wailed. The brunette sighed and rolled his eyes, as if somehow I was the one that made them cry. Instantly my attention was back of the distressed girls. "I'll go wake him up and he'll be good as new, okay? Don't worry, I've got it!" I practically stumbled over my feet to get out of the bus. Stupid Shikamaru and his damn lack of help. And the teme didn't even say a word! Guess he only did had Good Samaritan act per year.

I slowly glanced along the road to check for cars before creeping over to the dog. Slowly I knelt next to it, almost convincing myself that it was dead. But really, dogs don't just drop dead, right? They had that sense to go curl up into a corner or something before they died. Or was that cats? Right now, I just wanted to get the girls to stop crying. So slowly I placed my hand onto the dog's side, closing my eyes in fear. All sense of doubt disappeared when I felt his belly start to fall and rise underneath my hand. Great, it wasn't dead. Just really, really stupid.

"Naruto!" Ino's cry made me casually lift my head to signal the dog was alive. My actions were distracted by the now speeding car that was barreling down the street.

"Damnit!" I barely had time to scoop the dog up before I leapt to the other side of the street and rolled a few feet. The car didn't even slow down while it whizzed past me. What the heck was wrong with these people?! I panted and looked down to the fuzzball on my shirt, which now wagged his tail and barked happily at me. Oh sure, _now _he wakes up. I groaned and hit my forehead while I dropped back onto the sidewalk. It wasn't until two shadows lurked over me that I realized maybe getting hit by the car would have been a better idea.

"Naruto, what are you doing out of the bus?" When Kakashi sounded happy, that was when you needed to run, and hide somewhere in the next galaxy. I forced my eyes open to look up at the two counselors who were staring at me in confusion.

"The…dog…" I mumbled, only to realize that said dog had disappeared. I glanced around quickly, desperate to find the missing culprit. Unfortunately, it decided that my reward for saving its life was to have mine terminated. "There really was a dog!"

"Naruto, you know how I feel about lying!" Iruka said, and I winced before quickly shaking my head.

"No no! He was here! He was small and dirty and shit!...Stuff. I meant stuff." It was then I spotted a pair of big brown eyes staring at me from behind the counselors. Without thinking I crawled through Kakashi's legs, barely grabbing its scruff before it could run away. Quickly I held it up to show the counselors with a smile. "This guy was in the road! I had to save him."

"Well isn't he a dirty pup." Kakashi crouched in front of me, gently taking the dog from my hand. Though completely dirty and probably carrying some type of disease, the dog's entire body shook from its excitement. Kakashi stared down at the puppy for a few seconds before looking up to Iruka and smiling. "It's very handsome. I've always had a thing for dark eyes."

"Huh?" I blinked once when Iruka suddenly blushed, and whatever punishment he planned to give me was thrown out of the window. In fact, the two seemed to completely forget I was there as they walked toward the bus with the puppy in tow. Why the heck did everyone always forget about me?! I really thought the blonde hair and blue eyes stuck out like a sore thumb! I crossed my arms and huffed, but instantly drew them back once I realized the dumb dog left muddy paw prints on my shirt. And I really liked this one too!

"Naruto!" I jumped when I felt two sets of arms around my neck. I glanced between the pink and blond, who were both giggling about something. I grinned despite not knowing what I did. "You saved that puppy from getting killed!"

"You really didn't kill the dog." I laughed at the blue eyes that stared up at me in admiration. Oh yeah, I could get used to this. Even though I was embarrassed by the attention, I couldn't help but play it off as nothing.

"Well duh Ino, I told you I was in the bus. Don't worry, Kakashi's got him now."

"Na-Naruto-kun?" At the quiet voice, I looked over to Hinata. She fidgeted a bit, and I could tell that she was embarrassed by the fact she wouldn't look me in the eye. But then again, when had she ever? "Th-Thank you for…for ch-checking on the dog."

"Sure Hinata! Anything to keep my friends happy." I laughed and waited until my two new appendages let go of me to walk toward the rest of the group.

"A monkey could have done that trick. Probably with more skill too." I growled at Sasuke despite the good mood I was in. Leave it to an Uchiha to rain on my parade.

"Has anyone told you how much of an ass you are?" It was almost comical how dark Hinata's face got at my language. Another big thing with Huuygas was their need for clean mouths. I had no set boundaries.

"Alright boys, enough bickering." Kakashi moved between us, placing his hands on our backs and forcing us to walk toward the gates. I decided I wasn't going to let Sasuke bother me when I walked into the quiet scenery of the ruined city. My eyes instantly lit up while our feet made the only noise in the entire area. Normally the silence would bother me to force a conversation. But as we moved into the frozen city, I couldn't move my lips. I gazed upon the ruins in front of me, my heart slowing to a point where I almost thought it would stop. How could I not remember learning of something like this? I winced at the guilt that ate away at my stomach. Shikamaru said over 3,000 people lost their lives here, and I couldn't even give them the right to a sliver of my memory?

"It's scary, isn't it?" I weakly looked up to Kakashi, who stared at the volcano that peeked over what I assumed was the green of the city. Broken Roman columns and crumbling arches lay just under the quiet beast, as if reminding the volcano of what it did. The pat on my shoulder felt more comforting than scolding. "Pompeii may have been ruined, but the volcano's ash preserved what little it had left. So now that archeologists have uncovered it, we can come here and say peace for these people. Yes, it's a tragedy that so many were lost. But if you come here in order to remember the people that once lived here, it's not as painful."

"Yea…" We stayed still, even though I could hear Sakura's excited chatter somewhere to the right of me. I wasn't quite ready to go back to my reality yet. Kakashi didn't seem to mind though. "Do you think they knew they were going to die? Do you think it was painful?"

"Sadly, yes. Sometimes knowing you are going to die is harder than physically dying. But it's a part of life Naruto. Bad things can happen to people who don't deserve it." His hand rested on my head and gently ruffled the hair in a way that didn't seem so irritating. "So let's honor their deaths today, and let their souls rest in peace."

"Right." I nodded once, and turned my determined gaze up to him. "I'll make sure of it!"

"I'm glad to hear that. Now try not to fight with Sasuke today, alright?" He smiled and moved away from me, waving to a slightly frazzled Iruka. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but Kakashi continued to smile even when Iruka's panic grew. Sometimes I wondered about him.

"Naruto! Are you coming or not?" I jerked my head up to look at the frustrated girl that I had heard earlier. Instantly I laughed, sending one last glance to Mt. Vesuvius before running toward the group. In front of us stood the crazy lady with the umbrella, who had started to walk us through the pathways of Pompeii. Her voice seemed to echo down the alleyways we walked, her stupid umbrella knocking into things that made me scowl. Really, for a tour guide she was not very considerate of her surroundings. I sighed weakly before turning to face Konoha's own tour guide.

"Hey Shika?"

"What?" I pointed down to the cobble stone street next to our sidewalk to draw his attention away from the buildings.

"These roads are strange. Every couple of yards there are some weird stones sticking out of the ground. How the heck did people use 'em?" He scratched the side of his head as if he didn't know. I knew it was a misleading gesture. Really he just did it out of habit to try and fool people. The less people knew about his intelligence, the better. For him at least.

"The roads weren't used for walking on. The only things that ever touched the roads were horse carriages. Mainly because the streets were created as sewage systems, and so bath and toilet water would be running down the streets. The rocks standing out were stepping stones in order for people to get across the sewage. The spacing had indents because the constant pressure of wheels left imprints into the stone." I was pretty grossed out with the idea of sewage flowing through the city, but I didn't say anything. Actually, I hadn't even known that people back in these times even _had _sewage systems. Just how advanced were they?

"Didn't the smell get to the people?" Kiba easily moved from his spot behind us to walk in between.

"Probably," Shikamaru replied, shrugging. Our conversation stopped when the tour guide stopped at something ahead of us, pointing down at the ground again. We had taken a turn somewhere; the road was slightly different here. Whatever they were looking at I couldn't see, but the girls had somehow slipped ahead of us and were staring in mixed emotions. Sakura seemed to be stunned, Ino continuously laughing while Hinata's face matched the color of a fire truck. Whatever they were looking seemed to be quite interesting. Once some of the other kids left to glance around the new area, I quickly found myself staring down at something I never expected to see on a school field trip.

"Is that a penis drawing?!" That only caused Ino to crack up harder while Hinata continued to blush. "What the hell is a penis doing on the stone?!"

"The red light district." I jerked my head up when Shika walked over, not seeming to be affected by the random marking. Instead he looked around the building in a quiet manner before speaking again. "The phallus stone was used in order to direct people to the red light district. Amsterdam is known for theirs, but Pompeii was one of the originals. It was a very sexual city that had no problem in encouraging prostitution."

"These people rocked! Damn, I wish they were still around." Kiba laughed while I continued to gawk at the stone. Suddenly a foot appeared on it, and I winced while cupping the front of my jeans. Glancing up, I saw Sakura glancing at the girl in front of her.

"Let's get out of here. I really want to see the theatre." She still hadn't removed her foot. I could tell even Shikamaru was slightly affected by the heel pressed into the drawing, so I moved forward to nudge Sakura off of it. Since she hadn't been expecting the push, she knocked straight into Ino, who in turn hit Hinata. The shy girl would have stumbled into the ground, but Kiba was quick to catch her against his chest.

"Whoops! Sorry guys." I hesitantly smiled to the two fuming girls next to me, praying that they wouldn't repeat Sakura's foot stomp on another phallus. But all anger disappeared when Hinata opened her eyes to realize she wasn't on the ground. I watched, completely confused when she looked up to Kiba and instantly gained all of her flush back. It seemed the blush was contagious, because Kiba soon caught the same redness in his cheeks. Strange, these two always seemed to get weird whenever they were near each other. I could hear faint giggling between the once angry girls, and it took me a moment longer before I suddenly caught on to why they were so excited. "Oh! Do Hinata and Kiba like each other?"

"Naruto!" Okay, so maybe shouting that out wasn't my brightest idea. But luckily the girls could only glare at me for a moment because Hinata broke away from lover-boy to run down the street toward the rest of the group. Ino's head jerked toward the girl in a quickness I never knew she possessed. "It's okay Hinata! Don't be embarrassed!"

"Come on Ino, we've got to go calm her down before she faints." I got one more scalding look before the two girls disappeared from our group, leaving me to deal with only one pair of angry eyes.

"What's up Kiba?"

"You idiot!" I narrowly missed a hit aimed for my head, and caught the second fist coming my way. I may have been scared if it was Sasuke, but the blushing dog boy had nothing on Uchiha. So it was easy to avoid the sloppy movements while I laughed.

"It's not a big deal. Hinata's a really nice girl; I think you two are cool together." I grunted when his foot hit into my side. Damn, forgot about his feet. I finally managed to push him away from me to nurse my side with my hand, slightly scowling at him. "Hey, you shouldn't be mad! It's not like it was a secret or anything."

"If anything, Naruto's the only one who couldn't figure it out until now."

"Yeah that—hey! Shika, are you calling me dumb?" The slight smirk said enough for him. I growled in an attempt to ignore the comment and to focus on Kiba.

"You're still stupid for saying it out loud like that! Hinata gets embarrassed easily." I blinked once at the tone of his voice before grinning.

"So this isn't even about you? You're just mad I embarrassed Hinata?" Kiba crossed his arms over his chest, probably to tell me my answer without having to say it. I scratched the back of my neck when I walked over to him, sheepishly smiling to try and set down the defense. "Alright, so maybe I wasn't using my head. Didn't mean to make Hinata embarrassed or anything, just…sometimes my mouth just, ya know…"

"Opens when it should stay shut?"

"You know, you kind of sound like the teme when you say that." The twitch in his eye was too hard to ignore. My laugher came out even though I tried to hold back, and it soon rubbed off of Kiba. Once I was sure he wasn't angry anymore, I jogged ahead of them. "I'm going to go find Hinata now and apologize! See ya later!"

If I had thought the idea through, maybe I would have asked them to come with me. After all, Pompeii was huge. The fact that nobody was given a map of the city didn't help much. I wandered through the ruins alone for a bit, taking my time to admire the quiet buildings and art that was left behind. In some houses there were artifacts like bowls or tables. Some even had incarcerated people that had been completely preserved by the ash. I couldn't seem to look at them long before I was quickly moving on to another area of the ruins. Lots of it was roped off, but either way I could see inside of the little houses. I tried to picture living in a time with no electricity or digital services; where computers and cell phones were non-existent. It made me realize how good I truly had it.

I finally found Hinata as well as the other girls at a huge circle arena. The seats rose up like a football stadium, but were made of stone and were one consecutive slab. The inside of the area was covered in areas where the moss and plants had started to grow in, but the circular shape of the theatre was able to be seen. The girls, joined by Sasuke (I couldn't even remember when he slipped away), were sitting on the seats and staring down in amazement at something in the middle of the arena. I turned my gaze to what sat in front of me, and my eyes must have shot open in pure shock. There in the area where plays and performances were once done, Neji and Lee were fighting. Not in the sense of how me and Sasuke fight. Their moves were calculated and precise, and sometimes it was hard to see who was attacking and who was defending.

Neji's movements were sharp, but moved in a way that almost compared to water. His face was emotionless and he didn't pay any attention to the people around him. Several on-lookers were now staring in interest as the two sparred in a way I'm sure most people didn't get to see every day. Neji was a known master of karate, and had been practicing as long as he could stand. He was trained to become a lethal weapon if he had to, which was probably why so many people were scared of him. In fact, seeing him move like he was now made me realize how easily he could have taken care of me on the bus.

But, Neji was certainly not dominating by any means. If it was anyone else he was fighting, I would automatically place my bets on Neji. But Lee was a completely different story. Lee was not a fighter by nature, but did enjoy his occasional spar with Neji. He was trained completely differently than Neji's flowing sharpness. Lee's abilities were speed and power. His accuracy only added to how dangerous he could be. Even when someone blocked Lee's kicks, it was a good hit. Normally Gai sensei, who had been training Lee since he first stepped foot into the school, would have slight bruising on his hands from all of the attacks he had blocked. It was Gai's personal martial arts that he had never taught anyone, other than his devoted student. It was another reason why Lee's attacks could be trouble even for a skilled fighter like Neji.

The two sparred a lot after school, mainly because nobody else was a real competition for them. Lee struggled with how easily Neji's attacks moved together in a consecutive path while his were scattered and required force. Neji had to adjust to how powerful one shot of Lee's training could be, while his were a steady build up. If you ever asked who won, neither would know the answer. Somehow their fights always ended up in a civil draw. If me and the teme ever tried that, the world would probably end. But Neji knew when his body had enough and Lee was more than happy to admit that Neji was a formidable fighter.

It was probably why Gai seemed so proud, sitting next to the girls and crying. Really, the emotional state of that guy would never lead you to believe he was known for his fighting skills. Heck, he practically balled his eyes out when we watched _Bambi _in class before we left for February vacation. I didn't know why he had a collection of Disney movies in his closet, but apparently he was an avid fan of a happy ending. It was probably why Lee was such a romantic. I could just picture the two staying late into the night while watching Prince Charming slip a glass slipper onto Cinderella's foot. I bet they even made popcorn and wore matching pajamas. Now that was a thought I didn't need. I tried to shake the image while I jogged up the stairs to sit with the girls.

"So how long have they been going at it?" I asked, plopping down next to Sasuke. Sakura leaned over her lap to glance at me.

"About ten minutes. They should be finishing up soon though." I nodded and turned back to watch Sakura's prediction come true. There was a moment of space between them, and even from the high elevation you could see their bodies rising and falling with their heavy breathing. Lee seemed to wait until Neji lowered his arms to his side and nodded to move. Instantly the stoic face of bushy brows turned into a grin. The over affectionate boy hugged his sparring partner, who rolled his eyes but didn't completely shove him away. Then Lee turned his gaze up at up and waved, smiling goofily like always.

"Did you enjoy the show?" we clapped in appreciation, and Lee practically melted when he saw Sakura giggle. For him, that was probably better than any applause.

"You were fantastic guys! I should charge people next time!" I shouted, getting one loud laugh and one silent glare. Well, you win some and lose some.

"Very impressive boys! I could see the youthful sparks soaring through your punches and kicks, and it was an emotional battle that even I could not suppress." The entire group sweat-dropped at the overdramatic teacher that Lee was now staring at in awe. Neji sighed and crossed his arms, showing his obvious irritation. Still he didn't speak, because the Huuyga clan taught their children to respect anyone older. But to say Neji admired his proctor as much as bushy brows would be like saying I wanted to marry the teme. Not possible.

"Thank you Gai-sensei! I did my best for you!" Bushy brows saluted his proctor, making us all laugh. If anything else, Lee was dedicated. I glanced over to Sasuke, who no longer bothered to listen to our conversation. Instead, his eyes seemed to be starting at the scenery around us. It was strange to see Sasuke so relaxed, actually. Whenever I was around his shoulders were tense, eyes always moving. For some reason, he didn't seem to have the concept of enjoying something. But here, he seemed like a completely different teme. And every time I looked at him for the rest of the tour in Pompeii, he still had that same look about him.

It instantly changed once we got back to the bus. As we drove away from Pompeii, I turned my gaze from the disappearing ruins to let my eyes start to close. We had been walking all day, and now that it was quickly changing into night, my body wanted to sleep. I tried to keep my head from dipping, but found myself easily letting the blackness take over. I knew I couldn't fall asleep on bus rides, but my body was trying to ignore that fact. It wanted rest.

"Hn." I barely resisted the warmth that I felt against my cheek, which guided my head to rest on something else. It wasn't really comfortable, but it was better than letting my head hang in the air. I buried my head closer to the heat source, succumbing to the darkness for the first time in my life. I didn't wake up again until we were back at the hotel. I sat up and blinked when I felt the sheets slide off of my body to pool at my waist. When did I get under my covers? I looked around to see the other two were asleep, and the clock showed that I had somehow slept through dinner and went straight into the early morning hours. I yawned once, and laid back to stare up at my ceiling. All I remembered was falling asleep on the bus. Maybe Kakashi brought me up here? Probably, since I doubted Kiba or Shikamaru would bother to move me off the bus. And Sasuke? I mentally snorted at the thought before I snuggled back into the sheets to sleep.

Like he'd ever do something nice for me.

**And that's the end of Chapter three! I hope that you enjoyed it, because it was pretty fun to write. So the romance ball is starting to roll, and some pairings are becoming clear, yes? Well theres one pairing I haven't really shown yet, but it'll be coming up. Anyways, hope that you found it educational and a good read! And a review would be really appreciated. Oh, and go read 'Therapy' if you like the pace this story is going at! =) Thanks! **

**Chapter Four: ****Something Fishy in Vatican City**


	4. Something Fishy in Vatican City

…Okay, so I'm sorry if you all just got confused. I had the entire chapter all done and all the reviews and stuff all set up..and then for some reason, my computer erased it all…now I'm going to do them again because I love all you guys, so please be nice if they're not as long of reviews as I normally do…-listens to happy music so she doesn't kill computer- Thanks to **XSasuxNaruxForeverX **for my first review! That was really sweet of you. Okay, for the other –grumbles- again… **kat10788 **(haha they'll be known in this one, so don't worry about that wondering…and I'm glad that you liked the Kakashi line!), **Deathangelebz **(haha that's what he gets for letting his pride get in the way…-looks at chapter- still does it…), **miskie27 **(haha yea I love Shikamaru, that's why almost all of my fics have him in them!), **asdf **(yea I want to try and see if I can do the development of a relationship since most of my stories are only a couple chapters), **Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(I'm so happy that you liked my story! =) I'm trying really hard), **Akiru Chan **(I had a really good reply to you too! –pouts- anyways, yea Sasuke and Naruto are getting closer and closer and soon…boom! Haha), **Disgruntled Minion **(haha cow tipping…but yea, the puppy is really funny in my opinion too, and it's even funnier seeing it in real life!), **The Desiree Incident **(haha your sneaky suspicion will be proven or disproven in this chapter, I promise you that!), **Itooshii Koneko **(don't worry, an 80 page research paper is a good excuse! Unless it was about SasuNaru, I'd never be able to do that), **Searafina **(thank god some people's names I remember! Haha thanks for the review, and I know we all know it was Sasu), **Pebbles on the Sand **(yea sorry it wasn't so romantic, but I promise the romance will be coming very soon!), **Lydia-chan **(we all know that it's possible, but Naru is just too stubborn to see that!), **norway22 **(haha you missed one pairing, but that will coming up soon! And did I make it seem like a NejixLee? Haha Guess I have two choices for Lee now…), **XxFirexDance **(haha don't worry if you aren't like Lee/Gai, I promise that's a good thing!), **CassieDoesntJumpxD **(I don't have a life, that's why I can write so much…except I hate redoing things, like all of these review replies…-sighs-), **Chiaki Megumi **(well Naru will realize how much Sasu does for him soon enough), **sakurananachan **(thanks for seeing that I'm not running straight into the sex scenes because some people don't understand that…-sighs- that made me feel better, thank you again), **Exorcist-Miranda **(haha yea the red district thing was one of my fav things to write except for the SasuNaru moment and Neji/Lee fight), **gossa **(don't worry about not reviewing, what matters is you liked my story and finally DID review! Yay for you!), **a rather slytherin griffindor **(haha don't worry, little Naru will get lost eventually…though I shouldn't be telling you things like that…opps!), **zerofangirl, **(THANK YOU! Your review made it so worth it to do these replies! I loved it, made me feel so special, especially how detailed it way! –hugs-), **Wopsidaisy **(ah don't say silly things like that! Haha me in Italy…haha…ha…-winks-), **Chiru-lili **(I'm glad you liked the KakaIru! Haha I think they are funny together, so I don't mind playing around with them), **mockup **(haha nice jig! Yay I'm glad that you like it, and I'll make sure to try to keep making you happy!), and **robin Maxwell **(-wipes forehead- last one …again…blah, anyways! I'll deff make sure to end this story and Therapy because I don't want you to think you wasted your time! )

Okay, I know there is going to be some spelling and grammer mistakes! And I'm sorry if I didn't rely to your review! I'm really sorry, but I don't have time to go through it for a _fourth _time to check for it and do every single reply! Please please please forgive me but I want to get this out to you on time! -passes out- just…read…chapter….

**Warning: ****Alright, enough with beating around the damn bush! –Yanks romance from back pocket- bring on the boyxboy teasing! **

**Disclaimer: ****Uh…okay, so let's use some logic here…if I owned Naruto…**_**why **_**would I separate Sasuke and Naruto at the Valley of the End? Exactly…**

**Something Fishy in Vatican City**

"I can fix it! Really!" Okay, so you know how your mom used to tell you 'don't jump on the bed'? And then you did it, and you always wondered why she said it? I mean really, back home my bed could take on anything I threw at it and it was still standing proud. But of course, that wasn't the case in the hotel we were staying in.

"Naruto…" Crap, Sasuke calling me by my name was never a good thing. I could almost feel myself being lit on fire from the vicious glare Sasuke was sending me. Well Jesus, how was _I _supposed to know the wood planks under the bed would fall out if I jumped on them? The situation was only made worse because of the fact it was Sasuke's bed I was jumping on and not mine.

Okay, so let's backtrack about five minutes. I thought I had the perfect revenge for the morning before. All the extra sleep I had gotten on the bus ride home made me wake up at the ass crack of dawn, something I was not very pleased with. The only bonus to me waking up early was that I got to not only take my shower first, but I got to 'gently' wake up the teme. If Shikamaru had any qualms about it he didn't speak up, but watched as I quietly crept to the other side of the room. I lined myself up with the sleeping jerk and smirked, suddenly running full speed.

"Good morning teme!" And just like that, I was launched onto the teme and we rolled a bit on the bed. He surprised shout was so out of character, that I didn't even try to control my outrageous laughter.

"Dobe, get off of me." His voice was still laced with sleep, which made the threatening tone he wanted invisible. I refused to move while I laughed, leaning my elbow onto the mattress next to his head. I look down and grinned at him, fueling the sleepy teme's anger by tapping his nose.

"I think a 'thank you for waking me up my amazing, wonderful, sexy roommate' is a better response." He threw a fist at my head, and it was pretty fast for a kid who had just woken up twenty seconds ago. I jerked back a bit and narrowly missed the attack, his fist continuing on its path and hitting the bed on his other side. Not wasting a perfect moment, I pinned his body down with his own arm and grinned like the Cheshire cat at his unsuccessful struggles. But it was impossible for him to move with his own arm slung over his chest. Didn't mean he stopped trying."You can throw in 'strong' too."

"Hn." I guess that meant 'get real, dobe'; because I knew there was no way Sasuke was going to ever give me a compliment. Not like it mattered, since he was the one who looked like a weakling squirming underneath my hold. My plan went perfectly.

Well, that was until I heard a giant bang come out from underneath us. He stopped his growling and my laughter was cut short at the strange noise. We both crawled our ways off of the bed and lifted the mattress to find one of the resting planks that the mattress sat on had popped out from its spot in the woodwork. I continued to stare at it for a minute until I felt a pair of eyes staring at me. Slowly I lifted my head to be greeted with a not-so-happy Uchiha glare.

"Whoops…"

"Troublesome." I ignored Shikamaru's two cents while I tried to force a smile onto my probably paled face. Normal Uchiha glare I could handle. Morning 'I'm going to kill you for waking me' glare? Now that was in its own category entirely.

"You broke my bed." He spat out the sentence like a bad piece of food. I tried to laugh off the anger that was now being shot at me, but it only seemed to increase the dark aura around him.

"Just one part…" Okay, not what he wanted to hear apparently. "I can fix it! Really!"

"Naruto…" Even replaying the growled out name sent a shiver down my spine. Damn, when did Sasuke get so unnerving? Not like I was going to show him I was scared!

"Just hold the damn mattress and I'll fix it! Stop your bitching!" I tried to make myself seem unaffected by his leashed anger by rolling my eyes and moving to kneel next to the bed. I felt him move next to me to lift the mattress again, giving me access to the slightly disassembled area. I had to swing the board outward to get it to slide back to the top of the wood structure, and placed pressure onto the plank. My plan was to just slide the board down until it stuck itself back into the slot, but the stupid piece of wood wasn't budging. I huffed a bit and tried to press down harder, but still the damn board wasn't going anywhere.

Alright, this was starting to get embarrassing. I knew Sasuke was watching me with a 'what a weak dobe' stare, and it was completely unacceptable. I was not weak damnit! Puffing my cheeks out in concentration, I leaned my body weight onto the board in order to get it to slide down. When I felt it move I cheered mentally, until the extra weight made it slip right past the opening and made me fall face forwards onto the other boards. I mentally groaned when I heard another plank shift out of place. And then I grunted when the mattress was dropped onto my back, cramming me between the boards and the heavy mattress.

"Hey! I'm working here!" I managed to shove the mattress off of me, watching Sasuke start to grab clothes for his shower. Stupid bastard was going to leave me there too!

"You made the situation even worse. We'll have to deal with it when we get back from Vatican City, because the bus leaves in a forty minutes." Damn why did we have to go to all of these places so early? I crossed my arms and leaned against the woodwork of Sasuke's bed when he shut the door of the shower.

"Why does he have to be so rude to me? All I was trying to do was help."

"You broke his bed." I wasn't really expecting an answer, so I jumped a bit at Shika's voice. Turning to look at him over my shoulder, the intelligent (maybe _too _intelligent, which I learned by the end of the trip) boy continued. "You're troublesome, you know. How Sasuke manages to deal with you, I'm not sure."

"What the hell are you yapping about? The teme doesn't 'deal' with me! He just ignores me or insults me the entire time." He sighed loudly, like somehow a conversation was too strenuous on him. Seriously, he needed to be put in an old folk home with the other geezers.

"I don't wanna get into it."

"You're already in it! Now tell me what the hell you meant."

"What a drag..." But he shut his book and pushed up to sit cross-legged on his bed. He gave me a lackadaisical look that I knew hid much more than it showed. "Sasuke's the one who takes care of you the most."

"Huh?" I blinked once at the outrageous comment. And this kid was supposed to be smart? I would have laughed, but Shikamaru shook his head.

"Sasuke watches out for you. He continuously cares for you and assures your safety. It's probably why he insults you as much as he does. You do stupid things; he has to come rescue you. Like the pizza shop. Because you let your pride win over your brain, Sasuke had to come to your aid. He doesn't want to, but he won't let you get hurt unless it's him. The same reasoning goes for why he took care of you last night."

"Last night?" I echoed softly, the new, but somewhat known information still buzzing in my head. It was the first time someone had really laid it out in front of my like Shikamaru did, but…a part of my didn't really seem surprised. Sasuke was always hitting me or calling me names because of dumb things I did. Not to say I was dumb, because I wasn't! But, that was just how we were, right? I blinked slowly at the odd sensation I felt in my stomach. Shikamaru was my friend, and yet he never really came to my rescue like Sasuke. He liked to make me think on my own. Kiba definitely never took care of me unless I was practically dying (in which cases he really pulled through), and Neji? Ha, that's a laugh. Yea Lee was always looking out for me; he was like that with everyone he met. But Sasuke? Sasuke was just…different. I closed my eyes to will the weird thoughts away and turned my attention back to Shikamaru.

"Who do you think carried you here last night? You had practically passed out on his shoulder during the bus ride." He shrugged weakly and pushed off of the bed to slip his shoes onto his feet. I sat stunned by the information. _Sasuke _brought me up? Something must have tipped him off to my surprise by the roll of the eyes he gave me. He moved through the door moments after leaving me with one last comment to think about. "You really are troublesome. Why he continues to take care of you, I don't understand."

The room fell quiet when Shikamaru left. I continued to stare at the door that Shikamaru had just shut, wondering why all of this information was just coming out. Me and Sasuke had known each other forever. And yet now, when we were already strange because of the environment change and awkward situations, reality decided to slam me right in the face. Why did Sasuke put up with me? I felt my eyebrows furrow at the thought. The bastard was popular, so he didn't lack in his field of searching. In fact, he had to push people away from him because there were so many. So if that was the case, and I really did annoy him as much as Shikamaru said, why wasn't I out of his life?

"Get off the floor dobe. I said we'd fix it tonight." I tore my attention from my whirling thoughts to look up at the guy in question. Why did he always have to lean against walls? Maybe he had a back problem I didn't know about. When I didn't move, he pushed himself off of his resting spot to move toward me, hitting his fist against the top of my head. Of course, it wasn't meant to hurt so much as to wake me up I bet. "Are you listening?"

"Yea yea, I heard you the first time," I grumbled, rubbing the spot on my head. I watch his pale hand release the tension he held while he moved it to rest in front of me. It was just like the night we explored Rome. He had helped me there too, didn't he? I looked away from his hand and let my eyes close halfway. "Hey teme…"

"Hn." Well at least some things hadn't changed.

"Why do you always uh…butt in when I'm doing stuff?" I couldn't meet his gaze even if I wanted to. Probably because I knew that it really wasn't butting in at all. I just didn't want to admit, especially to the teme, that he helped me. Still, I was pretty sure he understood because he snorted and grabbed my shirt, pulling me up to my feet.

"Because you'd be dead if I didn't." His cocky tone wasnot needed. Ignoring my embarrassment for anger I glared up at him and balled my fists at my sides.

"I'm not a damn baby you know! I can take care of myself just fine!"

"You may not physically resemble a baby, but mentally is a different story."

"If I'm such a pain in the ass, why don't you just let me go and get hurt? Wouldn't it make your life _so _much better?" He paused after my shout, and I continued to glare despite my need to jerk away from him. Honestly, the way he was holding my shirt brought us right against each other, and I was not enjoying the weird sensation of having his toned stomach slide against mine. When had he gotten so built anyways? Maybe he started to train with Neji? Hey, couldn't he just ask me to train?!

"No, dobe." For a second, I thought he was answering the question in my head. Because that would have been a really freaky Uchiha power. Well, then again, I could add him to my super hero crew as the mind reader and we could fight crime. Except Sasuke _was _the crime, so I guess that wouldn't work out. Plus, he'd look crappy in spandex.

"Huh?" He barely sighed and I cursed myself for forgetting my own damn question.

"There's no advantage to you being gone." He released my shirt after that, and it was only then I realized I hadn't been pulling away. In fact, I was...leaning on him. He misinterpreted the widening of my eyes as a reaction to his statement. I saw his eyes glance to the left, and I would swear my favorite orange boxers there was a slight discoloration on his cheeks. This, of course, made my own cheeks start to burn. He still hadn't pushed me away. I still didn't move. "So stop making it my job to save you, dobe."

"Sasuke…" I swallowed weakly to control my voice again. Because talking all breathy like that toward my enemy was definitely not in the plan. My hand fisted over his heart, and the sharp motion brought his gaze back to mine. Wait, when did my hand get there? And how come he never told me to move it? So of course, my knee jerk reaction was to pull away from him as fast as I could. Unfortunately, this didn't give me time to pull away from his shirt, and I tugged the person I was trying to get away from into me. Then our feet got tangled and I let out a few explicit words when I felt pain shoot through my back. Damnit this floor was hard! Then again, so was Sasuke's body hitting into mine on the floor. I guess the reason why I didn't notice that pain was because the whole world suddenly stopped.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. 'Oh my god, they kissed'! No, it wasn't that. It was _worse_. My cheeks must have lit up light a damn Christmas tree, and I was pretty sure even a composed Uchiha couldn't help but blush. My thighs now rested along the outside of his hips, almost cradling them into mine. Our bodies were aligned in a way that left no room between them. Every breath I managed to force caused my body to rise up into his, and his breathing pressed me back against the floor. His head, thankfully, was nowhere near mine, and instead had landed in the crook of my neck. I guess that would have been better, except the hot breathing was sending a very unwelcomed feeling into the pool of my stomach. Unwillingly I closed my eyes, both hands fisting tightly. The one from before still laid tangled in his shirt while the other hand been on his hip to try and stop the fall.

This was not how I planned for today to go. Really, I was banking on this morning to go by much better than seeing Sasuke half-naked and dripping. I tightened my eyes in order to ignore the pestering image. I could feel him shift a bit against me, whether to get more comfortable or to push away I wasn't sure. Either way it made our hips rub, and my lips part. This was a guy damnit. It was Uchiha Sasuke! Why the _hell _was my body so eager to react to his movements? I had to bite my lip to keep from voicing my thoughts. Sasuke had become silent, except for those damn tingling breaths against my pulse. I opened my eyes halfway, staring up at the ceiling. Why did these weird things keep happening to me and the teme?

"What?" I tensed a bit at his smooth voice. Crap, did I just say that out loud? Damn thoughts, you're supposed to stay in my head! And mouth, no more opening unless you're instructed to!

"Uh…nothing." Finally he lifted his head to look at me, the brushing of our chests something I wanted to ignore. Wanted being the key word.

"You cannot lie to save your life." Or dignity, for this special occasion. I swallowed slightly as I stared up at him, promising my body any amount of ramen it wanted if it would just stop making me blush. But apparently, seeing a pair of onyx eyes was more important than my food source. I didn't speak, probably because my brain was a little muddled by everything that had just transpired between us. This wasn't right. It was me and Sasuke. We were rivals, and enemies…except he was always helping me out, and I was always trying to get closer to him. Really, what type of enemies were we?

"This is all your fault!" I closed my eyes and ducked my head in a way that made it impossible for him to see it. Sure, it meant my forehead had to rest against his chest. But I was going to ignore that fact until the day I died if I had to.

"You pulled me down."

"If you weren't spewing all that stupid shit about me and how you had to take care of me, we wouldn't even be here!" There was a small moment of silence between us that I was sure Sasuke hadn't intended for. Which meant he was surprised by my outburst. Ha, take that you jerk!

"Hn." And then, something strange happened. Something so completely us, but not us, that it left me in a daze. I felt a cold hand slide along the back of my neck, sending a shiver spiraling down my spine. But the pale digits slinked into my hair and curled, pulling my head back until I was painfully forced to look up at my attacker. His smirk was practically beaming, but yet there was that same damn tint of pink spreading over his cheeks. My eyes widened at how easily my breath spread across his cheeks from our proximity, and how now I could see how truly black his eyes were. Damnit, why did my body not function properly when we were this close? Then again, my mind was starting to turn into a puddle.

"Teme…" We stared at each other, neither moving our bodies or faces away from each other. It was probably a competition of some sorts. Sure, I guess I could chalk it up to that. Suddenly I was aware of every part of our bodies that were touching, from the tops of our chests down to the hips that were becoming fast friends. I sucked in a sharp breath when said parts slightly moved. Why did I have to be so squirmy? And why did he have to just…fit perfectly? The blush I was trying so hard to hide suddenly jumped right back to my face as I closed my eyes. I could feel his breath along my lips, and I should have tensed at the sensation. Actually I should have pulled away. Oh, and hit him for being so close, that we could practically…kiss. But, I didn't. I just parted my lips a bit, and-

"Not to break up your party-" Aw fuck. I tilted my head back to look up at Kakashi, who seemed completely unaffected by our position. His smile was definitely too bright. "But I don't think Iruka would be appreciative of this."

"G-Gah! No!" I shoved Sasuke off of me quickly, scrambling to my feet and shaking my head. "T-That's not…w-we…no!"

"The dobe fell." I heard Sasuke standing behind me, but there was no way in hell I was going to look.

"And the teme landed on me!"

"Not like I really had a place to go…"

"And I was trapped under his fat ass!" Kakashi blinked as we finished our combined explanation, and I suddenly felt out of breath from my shouting. Still, the perverted proctor only nodded and continued to smile.

"Well then, I guess that explains it. Then hurry along to the bus before little Iruka gets worried." He turned away from us, pausing before he gave us a cheerful glance over his shoulder. "But it doesn't explain why you two are blushing."

I tensed at the mention of the blush on my face. Kakashi moved from the doorway, and left us in a silence that I knew was going to come. But something about Kakashi's departure caught my attention. _You two are blushing. _As in…okay, so maybe there was one thing that would make me look. I wasted no time in jerking my head back to see Sasuke, who had closed his eyes from annoyance I was guessing. But still, the bright flush of his face was apparent, which made my cheeks darken. Why was he blushing? Why was I blushing? We explained it fine, didn't we? Well, except for the five minutes between the fall and Kakashi appearing. Oh, and the fact that we almost just…

"Gah!" I covered my mouth with both of my hands and backed away from him, my eyes wide. If he was surprised by the outburst he didn't show it, only scoffing and making his way toward the door. I couldn't help but watch him while he walked, slipping on his shoes and slinging on his backpack. Sending one look at me, I could see that his blush was already almost gone. By the time we reached the bus, it'd be like-

"This never happened." I nodded quickly in agreement, knowing I wasn't exactly fond of the idea either. Imagine what Kiba would say? I could already hear the corny jokes filing through my head. So when Sasuke coldly nodded and moved from the room, I should have felt relieved. But as I slowly dropped my hands from my mouth, I didn't. In fact, I almost felt upset. I shook my head and moved to follow Sasuke's lead, but even as I jogged onto the bus, I couldn't shake the strange feeling. I smiled weakly at the warning look Iruka gave me, and completely avoided Kakashi's side of the bus. The last thing I needed to see was his thumbs up, or random 'sex is fun' banner. Yea, you all laugh like I'm _not _serious.

"Naruto! How come you're always so late?" I sent an apologetic look to Sakura before sitting in my seat.

"It takes time to look this cute?" I said, and Sakura couldn't help but turn her frown into a smile at my charm-filled grin. Seriously, I should be on a commercial for smiles. I'd make millions and get tons of hot girls to want me.

"Being that cute should be a crime," Ino said, laughing when I pouted.

"It's not my fault I was born to be a hottie! Besides, it even works on Tsunade sometimes." Tsunade, our principal back home, always had a soft spot for me, even though she'd never admit it, her annoyance of me slowly turned into affection. I had that affect on people.

"Any more air in your head and you'll pop, kit." My eye twitched as I looked over to Kiba, who was now laughing at his own joke.

"Jealous dog-breath?"

"What do you know?"

"A lot more than you do!" He rolled up his sleeve at my insult, and I easily started to yank up mine.

"You wanna prove it, fox kit?" I growled and moved to stand, but the bus jerked us into the backs of our seats. This driver had the worse timing.

"Troublesome." I looked over to Shikamaru, who now glanced out at the moving scenery. If this kid's voice ever switched from monotone, I'd check to make sure he wasn't sick.

"So Shika, where are we heading off to today?" I asked, crossing my arms on the top of the seat.

"Vatican City."

"Oh, that's where that pope guy is! Right?" He seemed shocked by my information, and I grinned in pride. "I pay attention to some crap."

"Isn't it the smallest country in the world?" Ino scoffed at Sakura's question, rolling her eyes.

"Why would it be called a city then? That doesn't make sense, forehead." I could already hear a fight coming on from the severe twitch of Sakura's eye.

"You dumb pig! It's just a stupid name!"

"Oh yea? Like Sakura?"

"At least I'm not named after a boar you ugly piglet!"

"You take that back you billboard head!"

"Shikamaru make them stop! Just tell us which ones right before they make my ears bleed." I laughed at the glares Kiba got for his comment, but it was still effective.

"Vatican is a country, with approximately 800 people residing there. Of course, nobody is a permanent citizen, because they are registered in Italy instead of Vatican City. The only people who have temporary citizenship in the country are people who work for their government, and lose their citizenship once they leave office. There is about .02 miles of land in the country, making it the smallest country both land and people wise."

"Told you!" Sakura stuck her tongue out at the pouting blonde, who only huffed and glared out her window.

"Alright, so what else is special about it?" I asked, blinking.

"There are two main buildings that people travel to see. St. Peter's _Basilica _is a church in the middle of the country. It is able to hold 60,000 people, making it the largest Christian church in the world. The interior is designed with several paintings and metal work because of its high ranking in the Christian religion. It was named after St. Peter, who was buried underneath the church. Since then, many of the popes through history have also been buried there. The church has several paintings and sculptures, the most famous being Michelangelo's _Pieta._"

"So then what's the second place?"

"The Sistine Chapel. We're going there. It's even more famous than the _Basilica, _especially to painters and architects. The Chapel was created between 1475 and 1483. It's home to several pieces of work done by Raphael, Bernini, Sandro Botticelli, and the most famous of them, Michelangelo. His famous work took four years to finish, and was spread over 12,000 square feet of the ceiling. The paintings were of separate parts of the bible and people from Christianity. Michelangelo did not wish to paint the ceiling at first, and caused a huge problem with Cardinal Carafa. Something about how the nudity in his painting '_The Last Judgment' _was obscene and was not right for a holy place. Michelangelo didn't pay him any mind, and even responded by creating a sketch of Carafa in the painting."

"So what happened with the painting? Did he have to cover it up?" Kiba asked. Shikamaru scratched his head and looked out the window, and I let my own gaze wonder to see the clustered area we were heading to. I could see a huge building standing out of the crowd, but we were too far away for me to get a good look at it. Somehow I knew it was one of these buildings Shikamaru was talking about.

"Michelangelo never covered the nudity up. Some guy named _Daniele da Volterra _came and covered most of the people up under the orders of the church."

"Well that sucks. If I was going to put that much effort into a painting, I'd be rolling over in my tomb if someone came and altered it. What a load of bologna," I said, crossing my arms.

"Whatever. You could never get me to paint a ceiling." I laughed at the lazy guy's remark while the bus came to a slow halt.

"We can hardly get you out of bed, never mind up in the air! Seriously Shika, you need to drink coffee or something." At my remark he shrugged and looked up to the front of the bus, which I assumed meant that Iruka was about to speak. I shifted in my seat to look up at the brunette man, who smiled.

"Alright! We'll have to walk down a few streets to get to Vatican City, but once we're there, we'll be going on a tour of the Sistine Chapel. After that, we'll let you guys have some time on your own, where you can go visit the other buildings or you may walk down the streets surrounding the area. We will be meeting at the fountain in St. Peter's square at five, so we can make it to our reservations for dinner." The bus started to chatter with excitement as we moved off of the bus, and I smiled at the hot air that greeted us while we walked toward the little country. So far the weather had held out for us, and I remembered that Iruka said the only two days that seemed to be a bit troubling were Florence and Venice. I didn't care really, since either way we were still going to see the sights. A little cold and rain never killed anyone.

"This place is gorgeous!" I heard Sakura gasp next to me. I turned my head to glace at the awe-struck girl that had her eyes fixed on the huge monument that wrapped around the square we were in. "That is huge! Is it a museum or something?"

"They're Bernini's columns. They circle around the square, and have a total of 284 columns all together. They are also known as 'God's trees'. Mainly it is now used for places to rest from the sun, since the entire square is uncovered," Shikamaru explained.

"This Bernini guy did a lot of crap. I thought you said he was a painter?"

"Painter, sculptor, and architect. He really did it all. A lot of people back in these times had more than one talent that they used." Damn. I looked up at the massive column and silently wondered how long it must have taken to create something like that. They didn't have the technology we did. People back in ancient times were pretty damn talented!

"Alright little boys and girls! Let us find our way to the Sistine chapel! Now follow my umbrella, follow my umbrella." Aw, the creepy lady was back. I mentally sighed while the group moved through the square (which, by the way, wasn't even square) to get to a brownish looking building that made my nose scrunch. What was so special about this place anyways? The one in the square was so much flashier! And _this _was considered the artsy place of the two? But I didn't speak while I followed the group into the building entrance called the 'Vatican Museums'.

Alright, so I take my words back and shove them down my throat. I stared in amazement as I walked down a lightly lit hallway, which was completely filled with artwork and sculptures. I had never seen anything like it. Several marbled sculptures were hanging from the paintings on the ceiling, and maps of the times were hanging proudly along the walls. There was a white room filled with sculptures of Christian figures that I had never seen before. Even the columns that held up the ceilings of the rooms were decorated with crosses or some type of painting. The rooms each held something exotic or new that continued to interest me to no end; especially the huge staircase inside of the museum that was more of a spiral ramp than anything else. God I wish I had that wheelchair back.

So when Shikamaru told me we hadn't even gotten to the Sistine Chapel, I was shocked. All of these paintings, and there was still one _more _famous? I walked slowly down a long hallway, which seemed to be the longest of them all. Really, this place went on for ages! Still, I could see a pair of doors at the end of the hallway, and we were only a few feet away from them when the tour guide stopped us.

"This is the entrance to the Sistine Chapel. Please be aware that this is a very religious place, and no cameras are allowed in the chapel! Also, be quiet and respectful to others that are there. Now, follow the umbrella please." She whispered the last part to us before the group entered the doors. Instantly I was hit with a wave of silence that was not anywhere else in the museum. Tons of people were littered through the huge space, and yet not one person said a word. Instead their heads were tilted to the ceiling, seeming to be mesmerized by the paintings. Occasionally a loud noise meant to quiet any talkers echoed through the huge building, and it made me keep my lips shut. I slowly started to glance along the several paintings that lay above me, from Adam and Eve to what I assumed was '_The Last Judgment'._

Normally, I'm not a guy for painting. I prefer movies or pictures. But standing in the middle of this huge chapel, I felt severely amazed by what I was seeing. One man did all of this? How he managed to capture all of these scenes, make each person different and stand out, while blending into the picture made my mouth open in shock. I couldn't have done this if I had an entire lifetime set to just paint. But this Michelangelo had managed to do it all on his own.

I was so distracted by the artwork, I didn't notice where I was walking until I hit straight into another person. I quickly bit my lip to stop the yelp that was coming out while I fell back. Luckily, two hands grabbed my arms from behind to keep me steady.

"Learn to multitask, dobe." His voice was barely a murmur into my ear, and I bit my lip twice as hard when I felt a slight pressure along my earlobe and back. Jesus he came at the most opportune times! Crap, could I say Jesus in this place? I'm pretty sure that was a big no-no. Ah well, I didn't say it out loud at least. I looked back at him in a slight glare, but shivered when his fingers trailed from my bare skin in order to grab something he had dropped on the ground. It only took me a moment to realize it was a notebook and a pencil. I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped instantly when the loud shush went through the air again. Finding a solution, I grabbed the two items from his hand and flipped to a new page, scribbling down my response.

_I know how to multitask you ASSHOLE! And what the heck are you doing with a notebook and a pencil? _I handed him back the message, and grinned when he sent me a glare. I nodded to the paper for him to respond, and he seemed to hesitate in what he would consider my 'childish' way of talking before he put the lead to the paper. I glanced at the walls of the chapel, which were much less decorated than the ceiling. I looked back to him when he jabbed me in the stomach with the notebook. Silently grumbling to myself, I looked down at what he said.

_Idiot, this is so childish._ See? Told ya. _And I have it for drawing. _I blinked once before I scribbled down my reply.

_So then you like Michelangelo's stuff then? It's pretty neat for some dead guy._ He rolled his eyes at my comment in a way that almost made me laugh. Luckily I remembered where I was and kept my composure.

_Leave it to you to call one of the greatest painters in history 'some dead guy'. Your class astounds me every time I talk to you. _Even though it was an insult, I couldn't help but smile. I glanced around to see if I could find any of our friends before I started to write back to the teme who was now staring up at the ceiling.

_I bet me and him would be buds if I was alive back then. He'd be pranking the church by drawing nude people, and I'd be fooling around by dying the pope's robes pink. We'd be a sweet pair. _

_He had intelligence, a strong will, a creative mind, and manners. None of these features are evident in you. _Was his kind reply. He thought so much of me. Really, the teme needed to loosen up a bit. I started to write a rude reply before he was grabbing my wrist, pulling me through the hordes of people. I would have protested, if not for that damn silent rule. Maybe it was a good thing I didn't spout off, because the teme had noticed the others waving us to leave while I was busy writing up a storm.

"That was beautiful! The artwork was magnificent, and the emotions you could see on their faces. The joy, the sadness, the youth!" Lee's happy outburst made me laugh while we exited the museum. What I would have given to see Lee's actually reaction _in _the chapel.

"Calm down Lee," Neji said quietly, watching while Lee continued to bounce in his step. It was funny seeing the two of them outside of their sparring. Sure they were equally strong and skilled, but nothing else was alike. You could practically see inner Neji pulling his hair out when he had to deal with Lee and Gai at the same time.

"But it was so amazing! We'll never be able to forget such a momentous event in our young lives! We'll pass these memories on to our grandchildren and let their minds explode with creativity."

"Alright Lee, whatever you're on, you really need to give some to Shika to help wake him up," I said, laughing at the bored look I got from my brunette friend. We had just visited one of the most astounding places, and Shikamaru still couldn't muster the energy to care. That boy was a creature of habit if nothing else. "So where you do you guys want to go now?"

"Naruto!" My answer came from my right as I glanced over to the girls who were now waving happily to us. They already had Kiba over there, who continued to glance between our group and theirs in a sign of 'help'. Fearing the word 'shopping' to come up again, I glanced back to the four guys around me.

"What do you think? Should we go with the girls, or run for the hills?"

"I'm planning on going to St. Peter's if anyone wishes to come," Neji offered. He turned and started to walk before another word could be said. Lee seemed more than happy to join his friend, and I glanced to Sasuke and Shikamaru for their answers.

"I think I've had enough art today," Shikamaru said, glancing toward the girls. "Maybe they'll find more places for me to rest."

"I'll head with you then, since I have a feeling Neji would kill either me or Lee if I joined them on their 'joyous expedition'." I tried to mimic Lee, but really it sounded nothing like him. Whatever, at least I put the effort in. I looked up to Sasuke, who still hadn't answered my question. "You going to go sketch some more?"

"Hn." Well that certainly got us _nowhere. _Deciding Sasuke would follow us if he wanted to; I shrugged and started to walk over to the girls. I watched their eyes lit up, and I blinked once when Ino's glance went to Shikamaru before looking away. Since when was Ino shy? I sighed slowly when I realized that half of what girls did confused me. Really, they needed a manual.

"We better not be shopping again! The last time, I got kicked out." To prove my disapproval, I crossed my arms and made a point to look at each girl seriously. Apparently Sakura wanted to set me at ease, because she moved forward and smiled.

"The last thing we want to do is embarrass ourselves again." I nodded and grinned until the sentence finally caught up to me.

"Hey!"

"You deserved it." Ah, so the bastard decided to come. I rolled my eyes at him before turning back to the girls.

"So what are we doing then?"

"Iruka said that we could walk around the area to see what's going on around here. We're figuring we can take in the sights and get some pictures for our scrapbook," Ino explained, holding up her camera and smiling. I glanced to Sakura, who was pulling out a matching camera from her bag and shrugged.

"That doesn't sound too bad." And really, it turned out to be much more fun that I had anticipated. Hinata had been to get a map of Vatican City, and from there we started to explore. The girls went crazy with pictures, and I was pretty sure that Sasuke was ready to break the cameras because of all of the snap shots Ino and Sakura took of him. His irritation only made me laugh. We explored around the entire place, and really Vatican City did not seem so small from all of the walking we did. Especially for Shikamaru, who seemed to try and rest every twenty seconds, but a few tugs on the ear from Ino seemed to get him moving. We finally managed to make it back to the square a half hour before we were supposed to eat, which was a blessing for our screaming feet. We sighed around the fountain, either sprawled out on the ground next to it or sitting on the edge.

"Remind me never to wear these shoes again," Ino complained, kicking off the uncomfortable shoes she had on. I sighed and rested my back against the edge of the fountain, my head resting comfortably on Sakura's thigh.

"Remind me never to never let you wear those shoes again," the girl above me complained, which made me smile. Ino had only told us about her horrid shoes for the past twenty minutes, and it was apparently taking its toll on Sakura's patience.

"Don't even start to fight," Kiba grumbled out. I looked over at him through half lidded eyes to see his shoulder was comfortably occupied by Hinata's head. Both were blushing, but I learned my lesson from last time and decided to keep shut about it. Instead, my gaze travelled to the only one of us who didn't seem tired. And no, for all you scholars out there, it wasn't Shikamaru.

"How the hell can you stand?" I muttered, watching his overconfident smirk fill his features. Stupid jerk.

"I'm not tired."

"Or he's too stubborn to admit he's tired." Man, Sakura did get crabby when she was wiped out. Sasuke sent a warning glance at her, and then me when I patted her thigh. Like it was any of his business who touched Sakura. He had his chance with her years ago and never took it. So why he was glaring toward us like that I didn't know.

"That's how the teme is. Can't ever show when he's weak." I stretched out my legs in front of me to try and release some of the tension in them. They barked back at me in protest, but I ignored them to stretch. Really, the worst thing to do after walking for so long is to just sit still. It cramps up your muscles and makes it even harder to walk again.

"Hn." All of us fell quiet after his weak comment, seeming to just enjoy the noises around us. It wasn't long before the group on our bus started to reassemble near us, and Iruka was quick to start counting heads. I got a look from the teacher, which made me lift my heavy head away from Sakura. Really, he thought I was Kakashi or something.

"Alright group! Now that everyone is here, we're going to be heading to the _Il Convivi Troiani _for dinner. Please be on your best behavior. The restaurant it waiting for us, and has our meals already planned. If you had asked for a vegetarian meal, please let me know before you sit down so we can get you the other dinner." We all nodded to the teacher while we shoveled back onto the bus, too tired to create mischief. The bus ride was like the Sistine chapel, quiet and peaceful. I forced myself to stay awake, mainly because I did not want a repeat of last night to happen. Sasuke was quiet, and I occasionally peeked over his shoulder to watch his pencil draw something along a clean piece of paper. With the twenty minutes it took to get to the restaurant, I had to admit that Sasuke was nifty with a pencil.

A slight bump before the stopping of the bus jolted every from their light slumber and a group of scattered yawns danced around the bus. But all traces of sleep were gone when the smell of Italian cuisine hit our noses while entering the building. The tables were much smaller than the ones in Pompeii, but they were eloquently designed with a white table cloth and golden utensils and plates. The glasses practically sparkled from how clean they were, and each white leather chair had arm rests to relax with while waiting for our food. The table sat four people, and I was happy to have Sakura sitting with me, Kiba and Sasuke. Sure the last two were a setback, but I could handle it just fine.

Well, I thought I could. If I had known what they were serving, maybe I would have tried to sit with Lee and Neji, who were actually very quiet while they ate. If I had seen what they were bringing out, I could have saved myself from the irritation I was going to go through. But I didn't, too happy with my conversation with Sakura to notice to plate of doom that was placed in front of me. And then, Sasuke decided to actually start a conversation with me.

"Stop talking and eat." His desire to see me eat should have been a red flag. Still, I only glared over at him and them down to my plate before the color in my face drained. Instantly, I heard laughter coming from across the table.

"Ah look! It's Naruto." I glared up at Kiba, who now had a piece of fish swimming along on his fork. Great, they _had _to serve fish. I tried not to flush at the piece of fish that now sat in front of me, or the idiot that kept glancing between the smirking bastard, and the sympathetic girl.

"Knock it off Kiba, it's not Naruto's fault his name means that!" And once again, I hated my parents. They had watched some show where the main character's name was Naruto, and decided if they had a boy that was what they were going to name him. Of course, they didn't bother to try and find out that the definition of that said name was 'fishcake'. But as soon as my uncle, who had lived in Japan for ten years, heard about my name, he told the entire family. Of course they all thought it was cute, while I felt like someone was running me over a torture rack. I had kept it a secret until the fourth grade, when for 'fun', our teacher had brought a baby name book and found out all of our definitions. And now, that brings us here.

"Guess what Sasuke?" You'd think that during this childish play, Sasuke would grunt or just ignore Kiba. Oh, but you forgot it was _me _they were teasing. So of course, Sasuke's smirk quirked a bit.

"What?"

"I found Naruto's brother, Nemo." Really, Kiba thought he was hilarious. I knew that Sakura wanted to laugh, but to her credit she did try to hide it. Sasuke seemed to find the conversation fascinating, because he didn't roll his eyes or scoff the entire time. I was going to choke him with my fish if he didn't wipe that damn smirk off of his face.

"Just shut up and eat the stupid food before I strangle you." I growled out, stabbing the nasty looking piece of food with my fork. What made the entire situation worse was that I hated fish. I had been teased so much about the food, my taste buds actually rejected fish after a couple years. My doctor said it was psychological, like how people hate older men if they were beaten by their father. Because I had such a negative experience with fish, my body physically rejected it. Of course, if Kiba knew that then he'd just die. So instead of listening to my taste buds' plea for freedom, I shoved the fish into the sauce it was served with and forced it down my throat. I scrunched my nose to keep myself from spitting the food up, wincing a bit as a burning trail of bile slid down my throat. And I had only taken one bite.

By the third piece, tears were filling my eyes from the disgusting taste. I told you my body hated fish. Still I didn't let them fall while I smothered the gross meat in the white cream, trying to shove it as far into my mouth as I could before I swallowed it. Then I proceeded to drink a bunch of water in order to try and get the food to go down faster. As it was, the waiter just left the pitcher of water on the table for me. One of these days, I was going to do myself a favor and shoot my pride. But I had to admit that it felt pretty damn good to finish the fish. Not physically, because my stomach was ready to throw up everything I just ate. In fact, it was probably going to take five bowls of ramen just to get the fishy taste out of my mouth. What made it all worth it was that Kiba didn't finish his, and the waiter asked if he wanted to take it home in a (and I'm not making this up) 'doggy bag'. I nearly fell out of my seat laughing at the comment. And for the bus ride home I was able to tease Kiba as much as I wanted about his cute little bag with the bones designing the outside. He had sent one glare my way before he had scurried off to his room like a dog with his tail between his legs. I was going to follow him to tease him some more, but a gentle tug on my arm made me stop. I looked back and blinked at the other blond in our group.

"What's up?" She stared at me in a way that made me think that somehow Hinata and Ino had merged as one. The blush was there, but her eyes were filled with such determination that it had to be Ino. "Ino?"

"I need you…to give this to Shikamaru." She held out a piece of paper in front of me, and I titled my head slowly in confusion. Wasn't she just on the bus with him?

"Uh…sure, but why?" She pouted and crossed her arms, as if somehow my question offended her.

"Don't ask dumb questions! Just do what I say." Man, girls sure were pushy. I sighed and nodded, watching in irritation instantly disappear from her features as she giggled. "Thank a bunch Naruto!"

"Sure." I watched her run toward the girl's side of the hotel before I sighed and moved into my room. Shikamaru glanced up at me lazily, blinking once when I tossed the note onto the bed. "That's for you."

"From who?"

"Ino." He stared at the note for a moment before he opened it, his eyes languidly moving along the notes. If he was surprised by what the note said, he didn't show it. Instead, he rose up onto his feet silent and moved toward the door.

"I'll be back later." I barely had time to nod before he moved from the room, making me blink. When the heck did Shika move that fast? I didn't think he _could _move like that. And yet, before I even had time to blink, the guy was gone. I sighed and looked back to my bed, my eye instantly twitching at the sight in front of me. The bastard was sitting in front of me, in _my _bed, drawing.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted. He slowly looked up at me as if I had asked him what the weather was like outside.

"I'm drawing."

"I can see that damnit! Why are you in my bed?!"

"Because you broke mine." I looked to the broken bed that hadn't been moved since this morning.

"…So what?" He stared at me before turning back to the bed, starting to fix whatever he was drawing.

"So I'm sleeping in your bed, and you're sleeping on the floor."

"Like hell I am!" I said, growling slowly. His eyebrow arched at my comment.

"It wasn't a request."

"I don't care. We'll fix the damn bed." We both looked to the bed, and I quickly realized that the last time I had tried to fix the bed; I had only made it worse. "Well…we can get the others, right?"

"It's not necessary; you'll just sleep on the floor."

"Oh sure, you can say that because you're not the one getting kicked out of a bed," I growled out,

"So?"

"So you're either getting the hell out of my bed, or you're going to move over." He arched a brow and finally turned his attention away from the drawing to look up at me. I bit my lip for a second, trying to glare through my own surprise. Alright, I didn't _really _want to sleep next to him. So after a few seconds of silence, I huffed and moved over to the broken bed. Grabbing the mattress, I tugged it off of the wood work and onto the floor. I ignored his look while I started to fix the sheets on the mattress.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm pulling the mattress onto the floor."

"That's a fire hazard, idiot." I glanced between the door and the mattress, scowling when I realized it'd be impossible to move the door completely with the mattress on the floor.

"Damnit! Why didn't you tell me that earlier?!"

"That's not my job." I shoved the bed back onto the broken boards, turning to give Sasuke a piece of my mind, but I stopped when I saw him move out of my bed, making me blink.

"What are you doing?"

"Take the bed."

"Huh?"

"I don't want to listen to you complain all night." He walked past me toward the broken bed, his sketch forgotten on my sheets. I could already tell he was trying to use his big head to figure out how to fix the broken bed. I mentally scoffed and looked away, staring at my own mattress. I should have been pleased with my ability to get Sasuke out of my bed. After all, the last thing I wanted to do was sleep on the floor because of an accident. So why didn't I _feel _victorious? Actually, I kind of felt like a jerk. Hesitantly, I peeked over at Sasuke from my shoulder, watching the unpleased frown mar his lips. It bothered me more than it should have.

"Share with me." When he looked up from the broken mess, I instantly wanted to bite back my words. It was bad enough Kakashi had found sprawled out on the floor this morning. I could only think of what he'd say if he walked in on us sleeping next to each other. Then again, he may not be very pleased with the idea of a broken bed either. I shook my head to get rid of any thoughts of Kakashi to stare with determination at Sasuke. "Not that I want to. You're just making me feel like shit, acting all mopey and stuff."

"I don't _mope_." Yeah, and I was the king of England. But I decided to ignore his glare to move to my bed, easily shrugging off my jeans and crawling under the sheets.

"Whatever. Take the offer or don't. I couldn't give a damn," I mumbled, making sure to shut the light off before I closed my eyes. The silence between us didn't bother me half as much as knowing the teme was staring at me through the darkness. I pulled my blanket up over my cheeks just in case he could see the color distortion in the night.

I'm not sure when Shikamaru came back that night. Maybe twenty minutes or two hours after I fell asleep. Heck, maybe he stayed out all night and partied like it was 1969 (although I don't understand why they partied so much more than us). But either way, I knew Shikamaru found me and Sasuke sharing a bed and sleeping as if everything was right. When morning came, I expected some type of embarrassment to occur. Maybe if it was Kiba I would have gotten that. But he didn't ask questions or give me weird looks. He was just as silent as ever.

The lack of surprise should have warned me that by the end of the day, everything was going to change.

**Well there is the ending! I'm so sorry again for all the mistakes that I'm hoping aren't too bad. I know that there's at least two, and once again sorry! –bows-. Thank you for being patient with me, and I promise I'll make the next chapter a good 'sorry' chapter! **

**Chapter Five: ****Awakening Feelings in Assisi**


	5. Awakening Feelings in Assisi

Hello! Well I'm very excited that you are all still reading this (which I wasn't sure you would to be honest) and I'm even happier with all the nice reviews I got! Since I was mean and kind of rushed things last time, I promised I'd make this one nice and fluffy! So here you are! Let's do my thank-yous. First I wanna say thanks to **Chiru-lili ** for my first review! Haha the chair thing was funny. And you'll be able to see if your prediction was correct in this chapter! Now for the rest of you! **Norway22 **(haha I bet it was fun even if you didn't have two not-knowning-gay guys!)**, xMissxPepperx **(haha well I'm glad that I make them seem like real people, because I want you to think of them as true people instead of just characters)**, XSasuXNaruXForeverX **(I proooomise there will be a lemon in the story, just got to wait for the right moment! But I'm guessing you'll like the end of this)**, Wopsidaisy **(haha that's fine, don't push yourself to read the chapter if you wanna sleep! And thank you for the review)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqeak **(haha but teasing makes the story better in the end and you know it =P)**, jeeniebeenie **(Shikamaru is just too smart for his own good…well, that and he's lazy and doesn't wanna get involved =P)**, miskie27 **(what can I say, I like boys in beds together! And yet, all the sexy stuff never happens in the beds…I'm just weird)**,sakurananachan **(haha well of course Sasuke is hiding something… its _Sasuke! _And I love answering your reviews, you are the people that I'm writing for! And if you put the effort into reviewing, I'll put the effort into answering!)**, Lydia-chan **(haha you'd like if he did it on purpose! Sasuke without being emo is just…not Sasuke…-sighs- poor misguided kid)**, DisgruntledMinion **(Kakashi just makes everything so funny, especially when he messes up sweet moments with Sasuke and Naruto and then makes them awkward!)**, blue-nuriel **(Well Sasuke is the one that has self control, so he can't just steal Naruto away…although that'd be funny)**, Searafina **(haha you people are mean, enjoying the sexual tension….even though I write it….-grins-)**, Chiaki Megumi **(well I'l glad that I have you wanting more! If I didn't, then I'd be a bad writer now wouldn't I?)**, Itooshii Koneko **(I love your long reviews! Blah that does sound boring, I feel bad for you…so here you go! A lovely dose of SasuNaru ordered by Nurse Niki! Haha I hope that you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed your review)**, Deathangelebz **(haha the boys sure have a nice smell together…hmm, guess I can girl you some SasuNaru action –winks-)**, Akiru chan **(Don't worry about the art stuff, I actually found out some of that through the internet and was like 'wow, so cool, add it to SasuNaru!' and yes, Kakashi is plain old evil…but we love him! Haha and thanks so much for the long reviews, I always get excited when I see yours!)**, Ai Enmaxjigoku shoujo **(Wow it's been a while! And yea, I remember you =P thanks for the sweet review, oh gosh, you're the bike man! Well I guess I'd be too since I'm the one getting them together and all haha! And I hope you like this chapter)**, all-the-good-ones-get-impaled **(I really meant to comment on your review before, but when my comments all got erased I was just like 'blah!!!!' so sorry! I love the name, and I'm happy that you enjoy the story!)**, Exorcist-Miranda **(Yea I know, I didn't realize that it was drawn by someone else at first! And I can't tell you the answer to your question till the last chapter! Hee hee)**, XxFirexDance **(-blushes- aw thank you very much…yea, I try to make it not bad because I don't want to turn people away or ruin the characters! Thank you for the compliment, I'm glad you think I'm good)**, Black-sky-loves-me **(yay for being ominous! Haha I'm hoping that I'm meeting your expectation with this chapter)**, Kazanrai **(haha you wish! Not yet, but there is a some sweet sweet SasuNaru)**, asdf **(haha I'm happy that you liked it! And yea, sometimes the most obvious things to everyone else is like, a complete mystery to yourself!)**, kat10788 **(have I ever told you I get happy seeing your reviews? Haha! I'm happy that you enjoyed the chapter, and sorry bout the cliffhanger…but it was just too evil of a chance to pass up! I make up for it in this chapter, I promise =P)**, Kimi333 **(Well I'm happy that you are guessing the story because it makes me feel like I'm doing a good job! Hope that you enjoy this chapter too)**, a rather slytherin griffindor **(eh, the whole unconscious thing makes the inner chibi Sasuke come out….and I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter, because theres more where that came from!)**, zerofangirl **(I was so happy when I saw your review I squealed and was late for school haha! And yes, we're starting to head toward the end, so grab onto to something solid and get ready for the ride!)**, mockup **(They way you describe it sounds like I have a cooking show or something! Sasuke probably did molest him in his sleep, knowing how he is…not that we really mind =P)**, **and **pebbles of the sand **(Well I'm hoping that this chapter surpasses my last one! Haha otherwise I'm going to be sad…!)

And now for the chapter! Here ya go!

**Warning: **** -sings-I love SasuNaru, oh yes I doooo, I love SasuNaru, and you better tooooo….or else don't read!!!!!! -foams at the mouth-**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Naruto…I do own this seductive chapter though! -Grins-**

**Awakening Feelings in Assisi **

The morning after Vatican City, Iruka had told us to pack everything we had in order to move to our next hotel. Well, after he finished freaking out over the broken bed. Really we just needed a couple more hands to put it back together --like I said the night before, that stupid teme-- and it was brand new. Still, Iruka needed to scold me for treating the hotel room like a playground. Yea right, if it were a playground I could hang from the chandeliers or something!

That suggestion got me another ten minutes of scolding.

"Iruka-sensei, how far away is Florence?" Sakura had asked after the bus started to move. The morning sun was just starting to really shine as the bus members dozed between sleep and consciousness. Sure we had been able to sleep in later than most days, but 9am was still a struggle for a bunch of high school kids.

"It only takes about two and a half to three hours to get to Florence. However, we are going to be spending the day at the city of Assisi, which rests between here and Florence. It's about a two hour drive from here. You'll be able to explore the small town on your own, and then we'll drive to Florence for our dinner reservation," Iruka explained with a smile. That smile soon turned into a yelp for some reason that I decided was none of my business when he glared over to his seat partner, A.K.A, the pervert. Kakashi simply smiled at the flustered look and waved to us from the front seat.

"You kids can go off and romance each other without our supervision."

"Kakashi!" Iruka snapped, glancing like a mother hen at all of us when we started to laugh. Finally Kakashi stood, shrugging his arm onto Iruka's shoulder and pulling him into an embrace that instantly heated the younger counselor's face.

"And if you have any problems, make sure to bother Gai-sensei or Kurenai-sensei. You won't like the consequences of coming near me." Suddenly the bus fell silent, and I almost snickered at how terrified most of the kids were. Everyone knew that the pervert was skilled in several types of fighting such as karate, kendo, taekwondo, and judo. Even Neji and Lee would get their asses handed to them by him. Hell the only one that ever tried to fight with him was Gai-sensei, who had some weird one-sided rivalry, but Kakashi hardly even noticed when he was talking. Really, people like him should not be trained physically.

"You're not supposed to scare the kids!" Iruka hit Kakashi's shoulder while the proctor brought them to sit. I could tell from the quiet whispering around the bus that people were still too scared from the creepy look Kakashi gave to even speak normally. Seriously, he got off on making people uncomfortable.

"Your proctor scares me." I looked back at Ino and Hinata, who both seemed to pale from the threat. I laughed and tried to calm my friends.

"He's just a pervert, don't worry about him," I said, rolling my eyes. When they continued to look at Kakashi as if he'd sprout three heads and eat them, I sighed. "Come on, he's harmless."

"He's a lot stronger than you, idiot." I glared at the asshole next to me for two reasons. One, because he made the girls squeak in fear and smack closer to the seat, and two because he butted into _another _one of my conversations. If he wasn't going to say something nice, he should have just kept his big mouth shut!

"You should make hallmark cards with that kind of attitude." He rolled his eyes at my glare and continued to sketch whatever he was drawing. I watched his fingers glide along the page for a few seconds before I realized how creepy that was. Turning back to the girls to make sure that they didn't pass out from fear (I was mainly concerned about Hinata), I stopped when a familiar scene was played out in front of me. Sakura sat in the middle of the girls, a new magazine sitting in her hands. It was called _Seventeen _or something like that. "Hey!"

"What?" Sakura peered over the top of the magazine to look at me.

"What 'cha reading?"

"T-The _Tibetan _personality test. They take c-certain words and objects and…and translate them to see in-into your mind." Instantly my interest perked at Hinata's explanation.

"I wanna take it!" I whined out, getting a long sigh from Sakura.

"You don't even have any paper. How are you going to remember your answers?"

"Uh…" I glanced over to Sasuke quickly, grinning down at the notebook. "Teme!"

"Dobe." I ignored the insult and waited until he slowly looked up at me to speak.

"Hey hey…let me have a pencil and a piece of paper. I wanna take a test!" I got an arched eyebrow in response.

"I highly doubt that you came on this trip to take a test. You fail enough at home."

"Not that kind of test!" It then took me a minute to realize what he said. "Hey! I'll have you know all of my tests proudly say D on them! Like I'll let an F ruin my perfect record."

"You are an idiot." But I didn't care what he said while he flipped the drawing he was making in order to pull out a piece of paper. It was probably to shut me up. I eagerly snatched the paper and pencil from him before turning back to the girls and smiling.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Sakura laughed at my enthusiasm before she looked back to the page she was on.

"Fine fine, I guess it won't hurt. Okay, the first question involves animals. Place these five animals in order of preference: horse, cow, pig, sheep, and tiger." I blinked slowly before I looked down at my paper. Easily I threw down tiger, since they kicked ass. I put pig as last, because they smelt gross and really were pretty worthless. Well, besides for bacon…gah, getting off subject. I focused on the last three, wondering what any of this had to do with me. Well sheep were useful because of their meat and fur, so I guess they were high up on the list. I thought about horses and shivered. The last time I got near a horse, it tried to bit my friggen finger off! Alright, no horse for me. I ended up putting tiger, sheep, cow, horse, and then pig for the final set up.

"Done," I said, glancing up at the girls and smiling. Sakura nodded before her eyes shifted to my side, and slowly I followed her gaze to see that Sasuke was leaning his back against the window, writing down something. And yea, even an idiot like me could figure it out. "You're doing it too!?"

"Hn."

"You ready for the next one?" Sasuke nodded at Sakura's question, and I begrudgingly looked back to her when she spoke. "Alright, the next question involves objects. What you have to do is write down one adjective to describe each of these things I'm going to say. The five words are dog, cat, rat, coffee, and ocean."

I shrugged and answered with playful first. Dogs were always running around and getting into stuff, and they always seemed to have a smile on. My parents used to tell me it was because dogs were never sad, though I doubted it. Even if they smiled, it didn't mean that they were always happy. I moved to the next one and scrunched my nose. Cats were stuck-up, and I put that down as my answer. Unlike dogs, they were independent and completely snobby. They acted like they didn't lick their own asses every day. They could be useful at times, especially when they curled up on your lap and kept you warm or something. But still, most of the time they were just a pain in the ass.

Rats were nasty. I remembered Kakashi saying something about how rats held tons of viruses that could kill humans or at least make them very sick. They hung out in sewers and were perfectly fine in making their homes at dumps. Plus they had those big eyes that creeped the hell out of me. So in the end, I put freaky for my answer. What was next? Oh, coffee. Man that stuff was bitter. But I knew it was more of an energizer than a leisure drink. People only shoved the stuff down when they were in need of caffeine or they wanted to stay awake. So energetic seemed like a good word to me. The last one was ocean, which came as a no brainer to me…not to say I didn't have a brain! Because, no matter what the teme says, I have one, and I'm not afraid to use it. Like for the test, where I put a big ass word for ocean. Unpredictable. That was like...five syllables!

"Are you done daydreaming?" I jumped and glanced to Sasuke, jerking my head back a bit when I noticed how close our faces had gotten. Laughing weakly to hide my nerves, I looked back to Sakura and nodded.

"Sorry! Just uh…thinking."

"There's a first."

"Nobody asked you teme!"

"Boys…" Sakura waited until we sent a few more glares before she continued. "This is the last part, so listen carefully. All you have to do is write down someone's name when you hear the colors. The only rule is that you have to know the person."

"How do colors tell you anything?" I asked, smiling quickly when Ino sent me a glare.

"Do you want to take the test or not?"

"Course I do!"

"Then don't question it." I grumbled about 'pushy girls' before I looked back down at my paper, listening to Sakura's voice.

"The five colors are yellow, orange, green, white, and red." Well some of them were easy. Yellow made me think of Ino because she was blonde. Well, that and she was always hyper like me. And since Shikamaru's favorite color was green, it made me put him down. If I could use myself, I'd definitely put orange as my color, but since I couldn't, I put Sakura. Only certain people were able to pull off orange, and Sakura was one of them. Not as good as me, but I guess it was alright for the test. I stared at red and white, the last two colors I had to choose. Well, Kiba had a thing for red, but he wore white more often, and his dog Akamaru was white too. Not to mention red just made me think of Sasuke, probably because red could be associated with anger and bad feelings. So in the end, I chose Kiba as white, and the bastard as red.

"Finished!" I shouted, instantly wincing when I realized the others were still sleeping. Glancing around, the only sign I got that any of them heard me was a slight snore from Kiba. Stupid mutt.

"So you guys ready to hear your results?" I nodded happily at Sakura's question, and I didn't really care if Sasuke was okay with going forward or not. Let's see how well this test knew Uzumaki Naruto. "So we'll start with number one. According to the test, the order that you placed the animals in shows the organization of your priorities in life. The cow signifies career, the horse signifies family, the tiger signifies pride, the pig signifies money, and the sheep signifies love."

"So then…mine goes pride, love…uh, what's the cow again?" I asked.

"Ca-Career." I nodded at Hinata's answer.

"Right, so pride, love, career…then family and money? Ha! I don't need money to be happy. I just need my pride and some good loving!"

"Idiot." I heard Sasuke scoff next to me, and I glared over to him.

"You probably had the sheep as your last one you cold hearted bastard." He smirked a bit before speaking.

"Third, dobe."

"Whatever, like you really need it. All you have to do is look at a girl and she 'falls in love'." I looked back at my list, skimming my fingers over the answers. If love was so important to me, why wasn't I looking for a girlfriend? Actually, I hadn't bothered to date anyone since my deep infatuation with Sakura. My brows furrowed at the thought. So then if I didn't even look at girls, how come I got the sheep for the second one? And why did Sasuke have it as third anyways? Why didn't he have it as last? The kid practically ran away from every girl that came too close to him. He could have a girlfriend any time he wanted, and yet he didn't. Quickly I wiped the smile away from my lips at the thought. What the hell?! Why would that make me upset? Okay, definitely didn't want to think about it anymore.

"What's the next part?" I asked, keeping my eyes away from Sasuke and up toward the girls. Ino blinked before leaning over Sakura's shoulder to read.

"It says here that in describing these words implies certain parts of your life. The dog shows something about your own personality." I looked down at my answer and laughed.

"I'm playful? Well, I guess that's what you could call all my pranks, eh?" Sakura shook her head, trying to pretend her smile wasn't caused by me.

"What about you Sasuke?" I bet he shrugged. I say bet because I wasn't going to look over to him while my conscious continued to pester me about the sheep.

"Fast." Well, that was true. Sasuke was pretty quick. I nodded to myself as if accepting his answer before moving on.

"What about the cat? I put stuck-up." Sakura and Ino both seemed to giggle at my answer, while Hinata blushed. I blinked once when her eyes shifted between me and Sasuke. "What's wrong Hinata?"

"O-oh! Nothing I…" She blushed deeper and glanced to the page, her voice speeding through the explanation."The ca-cat shows something a-about…about the person's pa-partner!"

"Hn." My reflexes caused me to glance to Sasuke, instantly regretting it when I caught his gaze with mine. He held it for a second, and I swallowed to moisten my suddenly dry throat. How did one look do that to me? I knew it wasn't fear, because I would never be scared of someone as weak as the teme. It was something else…But I didn't have much time to think when he looked back down at his paper. "I put lazy."

"Lazy?! What the hell!" I pointed a finger to Sasuke as I shouted, not caring if the rest of the bus woke up. They all slept too much anyways. "That's not even true and you know it!"

"What are you talking about Naruto? Cats are wicked lazy." Ino's voice suddenly made me realize what I was shouting about. We were just talking about a cat. A cat that had something to do with whoever Sasuke was going to end up with, and nothing to do with Uzumaki Naruto. So why the hell did I think he was insulting me?! Even though he had smirked, that didn't mean anything. He always smirked, it wasn't a sign he was thinking about me. Why would I want him to anyways? He was Sasuke! I had to stop the occasional skip of my heartbeat when I thought about it.

"Uh…well I like cats!"

"But you just called them stuck-up," Sakura said, making my eye twitch. Really, I needed to think of things before I spoke.

"Can we just go to the next one? I said rats were freaky." I avoided eye contact with anyone in the conversation and settled for trying to burn a hole through my sheet of paper.

"Rats are supposed to show how you feel about your enemies," Ino explained. Well, I didn't really have any enemies. Well, unless you considered Kakashi, since he was on my list of revenge. Then yea, I guess freaky would work.

"Dirty." Really the words Sasuke were using were pretty boring. I sighed and shook my head, trying to keep my eyes off of him. You never notice how much you look at someone until you can't do it anymore.

"Coffee…yea, coffee's next! I put energetic!" Again with the giggles. These girls seriously were having way more fun with this than I was. "What the hell's so funny?"

" Nothing! Uh…Sasuke, what did you put?" Ino asked cheerfully, which seemed to creep Sasuke out just as much as me. In fact, I could have sworn I heard hesitation in his voice.

"Steamy." I squirmed a bit when I felt a small shiver capture my spine. What the hell was that anyways? I tried to ignore my body's weird reactions to Sasuke's voice as I watched the girls continue to gasp for air through their laughter. What was so funny?

"Hinata, will you just tell us what it's supposed to 'imply'?" I made quotation marks with my fingers when I spoke to try and emphasize my annoyance. That only caused the girls to continue to laugh while Hinata stuttered through her blush.

"It…it i-implies…ho-how you want y-your…s-s-sex." I coughed a bit after the answer. I didn't even care about my own answer. My cheeks went red at the thought of the person next to me. Sasuke wanted _steamy _sex?! He was the most composed, cold-assed, stiff guys I had ever met. And yet, according to this personality test, the inner Sasuke wanted his sex to be…steamy? I nervously swiped my tongue along my lower lip. Sure, people used the word all the time to describe sex. Any story that got people hot under the collar assumed sex to be hot and sticky. But hearing Sasuke say it…hearing Sasuke saying it was steamy…

My body twitched in horrid excitement.

"I kind of figured Naruto would want energetic sex." But for some reason, nobody else was as obsessed with what he said. In fact, they seemed to find my explanation more interesting. "We should just call him the energizer bunny."

"Ino!" Sakura blushed while Ino continued to laugh.

"Alright I'm sorry. Let's just move on." Ino skimmed her finger down onto the page before tapping something. "It says here that the ocean is supposed to show how you feel about your life right now. Well Naruto?"

"Unpredictable…" But this test sure seemed to be 'predicting' a lot more things than I expected.

"Changing." I closed my eyes after Sasuke spoke, becoming queasy from all of the emotions I was shifting through. "My life is changing."

"Oh, you two are so ominous." I knew Ino was teasing, but somehow I had a feeling she was more right than she thought. Just what was going on here? One minute I want to shove the teme's face into the seat for being such a jerk, and the next I'm thinking about steamy sex with him!

About him. Not with him, because that would imply I was thinking of him in a sexual way. And I couldn't like Sasuke in a sexual way because then I'd like him. Liking him is not possible because we haven't kissed or anything. And we hadn't kissed because we weren't friends and hated each other! Well, no we didn't hate each other. We were friends. Friends that almost kissed except Kakashi ruined it. Which means we would have, and that could lead to why my heart was beating so fast. A quick beating heart meant I may like him, so it's possible to think of him sexually. So really, maybe, possibly I could have been thinking about sex with him.

Wait. Did I just counter my own argument? Shit!

"…is yellow, which is a person that you will never forget." They were talking? I looked down at my paper and realized they had gone onto the last question. Ino was yellow. So she was somebody that I would never forget. Well that was good I guess. I was going to tell the girl speaking I had gotten her for yellow, but Sakura moved to the next part of the question.

"The orange is somebody that is a true friend to you." Well of course Sakura was a true friend. Hell I was 'in love' with her for a couple years!

"Oh! This one is so cool. White is your twin soul," Ino continued. I blinked a bit when I realized that Kiba was next to white. Well that made sense. We were always getting into trouble together. I guess it was just a natural occurrence between two twin souls. Hah, I was liking this quiz more and more. Now I could use it as an excuse to Tsunade next time we got in trouble. Our souls were just 'bonding' or something stupid like that. Sure she wouldn't believe us, but Gai would. And then he'd distract her long enough for us to get away.

"And green is someone that will be important to you for the rest of your life!" Huh, go figure. The one kid who tried to just blend in was going to be an important part of my life. Maybe I was going to make a mattress department and he was going to be my tester. But maybe if red meant someone I hated or caused trouble in my life, Shikamaru would just be the peacekeeper between me and the teme.

"And red is someone that you love!"

"Huh?!" Ino blinked at my sudden outburst, and I was positive that Sasuke was arching an eyebrow. Apparently my shouting had finally started to wake up the other members of the bus, but I really didn't give a damn at the moment. There had to be a mistake.

"Yea, red is somebody that you will love. Or do love; I guess it depends on when you take this," Ino said, shrugging a bit. I continued to glance down between my paper and the magazine, waiting for someone to say 'just kidding Naruto, man you fell for it'. But when nothing came, I tried to change fate on my own.

"You're kidding right? That's not even funny Ino," I said, rolling my eyes. She huffed and gave me a glare that was unknowingly making my fears become reality.

"Why the heck would I lie about this? The test says that whoever you put as red, is a person you love or will love. Hinata took the test and got Kiba, so I'm sure that it's not wrong!" Ino instantly looked over to the now blushing girl, who seemed to almost faint when she realized said dog-boy was now wide awake. And when I say wide, I mean his eyes. "Uh…opps. Sorry Hinata!"

"Ino!" Sakura hissed, easily starting a fight between the two. Hinata was looking everywhere but her red match, while Kiba starting to match her in color. Shikamaru was quiet in watching the girls argue, probably just too lazy to go over and stop it. Lee and Neji were now up and talking, about something I really didn't bother to care about. Despite everything that was going on around me now, I couldn't help but block it out to stare down at the name that I had written. I swallowed weakly while my fingers shook a bit. I should have been scared because the paper said I was going to fall in love with Sasuke. Or maybe I was supposed to shake in anger from the test telling me a lie. But that wasn't why I was like this. It was the fact that somehow, my heartbeat continued to increase with the idea of it all. Being in love would probably scare anyone. Being in love with the same sex would freak the hell out of people. Being in love, with the same sex, and having his name be Uchiha Sasuke? That's a heart-stopper right there.

"You're shaking." I literally jumped in my seat and yelped, looking over to the guy I had been thinking about. He was now sitting forwards again, working on his drawing again. How he even noticed I was shaking was a complete mystery, because he wasn't looking at me. As if he read my mind, I could see a sliver of a smirk rise on his lips. "The armrest is vibrating next to me."

"S-shut up!" I snapped, turning to face forward again. Glaring at the paper a few more time, I folded it and shoved it into my pocket. There was no way I was letting anyone else see this. They may get the wrong idea. I couldn't stop the small voice in my head that asked which idea I considered wrong.

"The test is fake you know." I blushed in embarrassment when he sent me a look that clearly stated he thought nothing of his answers.

"I know that! Why the heck would I take it seriously anyways?" I glared to the side to ignore how shaken my voice sounded. He'd have to kill me before I admitted that the test had affected me. A small silence fell between us, even though the rest of the bus now clamored with noise. He continued to sketch while I stared at the seats in front of us.

"Because you're like that…"

"Like you know me."

"…being able to be convinced something is real because it's what others say. And yet-" I didn't want to seem interested in why he stopped talking, but I couldn't help it.

"What?"

"Nothing." The pressure on his pencil grew a bit more than I thought he noticed.

"Liar! Tell me what you were going to say!" He scoffed, but didn't answer me. Eventually I gave up, favoring the view outside out the window. Fine, let him be a jerk. I didn't care anyways. He was probably going to say something rude or snotty. The rest of the bus ride went by quick, which surprised me. Somehow my thoughts had drifted to pointless things that I couldn't remember when I snapped from my daze. Sasuke had put his drawing away, and by the shuffle of feet around me and the excited chatter, I knew we were there. Maybe the stopping of the bus should have been the biggest clue, but I wasn't always the brightest kid in the class.

"Assisi," Shikamaru started while we walked up a small dirt road toward the town, "is pretty small. It's not like Rome or Vatican. The place is mainly known for its medieval castles, and the church called _Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. _St. Francis was a saint that was canonized in 1228."

"What does that even mean?" Kiba asked, blinking. Shikamaru sighed, and I knew he was mentally saying something along the lines of 'how troublesome'.

"It means that the person lived their life so well, and by the bible, that after they died they were promoted to become a saint. Francis was a friar before he became a saint. He's known for going up against the sultan in the Muslim religion, who wanted him to stop his preaching. However, when he was willing to walk through fire to prove his preaching was true, the sultan recognized his good intentions and allowed him to continue. Then after he died, the people saw him for his true dedication and allowed him to become a saint. Eh, I guess that's the short term version of it."

"So this place is pretty religious?" I asked slowly. It wasn't that I had a problem with religion, I just didn't know much about it. I was brought up under the idea that whatever I wanted to believe in was fine. So when people started to try and press their ideas on me, I got a bit freaked out.

"Not to the point where it's in your face."

"Oh good! Anything else interesting?"

"The town is very close together, and the shops are small. You won't find a line of designer places here. Most tourists only come to see the church and leave, but there is a hike that you can go on and see the entire area from the top of a hill. It leads to the _Rocca Maggoire_, one of those medieval castles I was talking about earlier. It was designed as a fortress for the town, and some of its walls still are intact around Assisi. The main part is on the hill though." Instantly it caught my interest.

"We're so climbing up to it!"

"Good luck trying to convince the girls." And by the way Shikamaru's voice flattened, I could tell it was going to be a struggle to get him to do it too. But I kept up my optimism as we continued, our feet soon meeting the grey stone of the town. We walked along a sidewalk that overlooked a huge area of Italy, which meant the girls stopped several times to take pictures. I could see why Shikamaru had said that Assisi was different from the other two cities. Yea it wasn't exactly tiny, but the noise was muffled and getting to it was all uphill, as if circled by an invisible shield to keep the rest of the world out. The buildings were designed differently, and I could see how the medieval times had shaped some places. The alleyways were small but not crowded like in Rome. It was just very…peaceful. Quiet. It made you relax without even realizing it.

"Alright class. This is the _Basilica di Santa Chiara_, where we will be meeting after you have a look around. I expect you all to be here by four o'clock, because our reservations are already set in Florence. Other than that, remember to stay in at least pairs, and try to explore all that you can." Iruka's smile was bright as he waved us off. I looked over my shoulder to see that Kakashi was already pulling him off toward one of the secluded areas of the town, and I mentally scoffed. Leave it to the pervert to try and make Iruka look for girls with him in a religious city. He had a better chance of scoring with the brunette teacher than finding play in the town.

"Where do you guys want to go first?" I focused back on the group when Sakura's cheerful question entered the air.

"Let's go to the castle on the hill! The Rocca whatever…" I was never good with names. And when they were in a different language, it was even worse.

"Wait a second! We haven't even explored the town yet and you want us to go climb some huge mountain?" I blinked at Ino's comment before slowly nodding.

"Why not?"

"What if there's something down here we want to do?" I sighed when Sakura spoke before moving to stand in front of the group, throwing my arms out around me.

"What the heck is there to do here?" I continued to walk backwards as I spoke, ignoring the eye roll that Ino gave me.

"The churches and the shops?" Like I cared about those!

"And the…the ice cream shop…" I glanced to Hinata in immediate interest, watching her gently point to the small store down the street. My mouth dried the picture of the yummy looking ice cream sitting on top of sign. Alright, so maybe the castle could wait. By the growling of my stomach, I could only guess it agreed.

"Ice cream it is!" I pouted when the group started to laugh at me. It wasn't my fault I was a growing boy.

"You know, the actual name is _gelato_. The two are completely different things_,_" Shikamaru said, shrugging next to me.

"It's cold, edible, and I want it. Either way, I'm going to get some," I replied, rushing into the store to get my share of whatever it was. Each of us got our own assortments of vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry gelato, and the store owners were very pleased with how much money we brought into the small store. We (and by that, I mean Ino and Sakura) decided it would be easier for us to eat our frozen treat without the worry of walking up the hill. So afterwards they promised we'd go right after we explored the town, I agreed.

And even though I didn't want to admit it, Assisi was really cool. The arches of the alleys were complete reminders of the medieval look it was spilling from our earlier walk. Sakura and Lee were quietly talking while they walked in front of me, and for once Sakura wasn't looking for a way to escape. Maybe the relaxing aura got to her too, because she seemed almost friendly with Lee, which made bushy brows soar in excitement. I could practically see his feet lifting from the ground in excitement.

Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru were somewhere behind us. I barely even heard them talking. Well, that wasn't too surprising, since they were the least social of the group. But really, did they have to walk so far away from us that we seemed to be in different groups? From the corner of my eye I could see Kiba and Hinata walking to my right, Hinata gently cleaning the chocolate ice cream from her boyfriend's face. It was pretty obvious now that the two were going out, or were just about to start. Either way I was happy for them, because it seemed like they were a cute couple. Hinata was sweet and quiet, which would probably keep Kiba's big ass mouth from yapping so much. And since Kiba was always doing new and random things, I was sure I'd get to see more of Hinata's personality shine through. I heard Ino giggle next to me while both of us licked at our vanilla cones, walking down one of the smaller alleys of Assisi.

"This is delicious!" She said happily, and I couldn't help but grin. Ino really could be nice to hang out with when she wasn't fighting with Sakura.

"Hey there cutie." We both looked up at the cat-call (probably because we both thought we were pretty hot) to see a group of guys leaning against one of the buildings. Well, I guess it wasn't me they were talking about. The one in the middle of the three guys winked at Ino before grinning in a way that made me scowl. "Wanna put that tongue to good use, after all… _ci un sexy ragazza._" Alright, so I wasn't very fluent in Italian. In fact, I still couldn't really remember if _bagno _meant toilet or backpack. But the universal word of sexy was clearer than the space between Kiba's ears. These jerks were hitting on Ino. Their usage of 'sexy' did not seem quite so appealing as it should.

"Excuse me, but could you say it in English please? I don't speak Italian." I knew that the guys could tell Ino was irritated. It was probably because she heard the same thing I did, or maybe because they were eyeing her like a piece of meat. Normally she'd be ecstatic over the attention, but something about these grease balls even had me getting angry. Especially when they snicker and watched their 'boss' or whatever he was take a step toward us.

"Oh don't worry _biondo_, we'll teach you how to…_strillo_ our language, _bene?_" Ino leaned back when the creep moved to touch her cheek, but a hand shot out and caught the guy's wrist before he even had the chance to advance again. At first I thought I had moved unknowingly, but the short sigh that came from its owner proved me wrong.

"Troublesome girl. Why do you always attract people like these guys?" Ino seemed to relax even though she pouted at her savior. Shikamaru then sent a lazy gaze toward the guy who now glared at him for interrupting his fun. "Trust me; you don't want her to 'scream' your language. In fact, you're lucky she doesn't know Italian, or else you'd be on the ground 'screaming' in pain. She doesn't take well to being called blonde."

The guy seemed to sneer at Shikamaru before yanking his wrist back. There was a moment that I almost thought the lazy boy would say 'what a drag' and walk away. After all, it was Shikamaru we were talking about. But whatever Ino had put in that note last night seemed to change a tiny part of Nara's way of life. Instead of backing away, Shikamaru slid his arm to rest along Ino's shoulders and kept his eyes on the group of guys. Normally I'd chalk it up as a friendly (or tired) gesture, except Ino was now blushing and Shikamaru had a steady hold on Ino's other shoulder.

"_Stare lontano da lei_." Shikamaru watched the slight scowl on their faces before he sighed and rubbed his temple with his other hand. "Since your accent is fake and I'm assuming your friends are from the same country you are, I'll say it in English. Stay away from her. _Bene_?" I don't think they expected to find a genius hidden behind that lackadaisical look. Really I shouldn't have been surprised by the fact that Shikamaru spoke Italian. I mean, the kid knew everything else about the country. Seeing that their little plan to stump the 'sexy blond girl' into coming with them failed, they easily made their retreat out of the alley after muttering some insults. And I'd like to add they were all English insults too.

"That was awesome Shika! You totally showed them up." I punched in the air and laughed at the now yawning boy, who looked more like he had been physical fight than a verbal. Still, his hold on Ino's shoulder didn't loosen.

"They used the sentence wrong anyways. They were trying to say _sei un __sexy ragazza, _which means'you're a sexy girl'. They got the wrong translation and said _ci un sexy ragazza, _which means something like 'us a sexy girl'. So like I said—" Shika's sentence was cut off when Ino hugged him, pressing her forehead to his shoulder. Even while he sighed and acted like the touch was unwanted, I could see the blush that was rushing under his cheeks. His unused hand came to his temple to rub it. "Troublesome girl."

"Thank you for doing that! I couldn't understand anything they were saying and I was really confused and…and…" I stepped back a bit as I watched Ino hold tighter onto Shikamaru's shirt. It was moments like these, though very rare, that Ino showed her weakness. Ino didn't do well in situations she didn't understand. Her power was talking her way through every problem and solution. When people took that factor away from her, bad things happened. One time in science class during our junior year, Ino got detention for a week for pouring a chemical over a girl's head. It really was the other girl's fault for teasing her in Spanish, which Ino never took. She didn't like having to rely on other people because she was such an independent person, so in situations like these Ino had problems. Luckily for that jerk, Shikamaru was there. He was probably why that guy was still able to walk properly.

"Stop thanking me." Even though he groaned, Shikamaru never let his hold go on Ino. Deciding this was a good cue to leave, I took a step back quietly. Unfortunately, the back of my foot hit a staircase and I went tumbling over, breaking the silence with a large shout. I winced when I felt a stair against the back of my head, and decided it was better if I tried to catch my breath before I moved.

"Shit, Naruto, you okay?" I gave a hesitant thumbs-up to Kiba before letting my hand drop back to my side as I closed my eyes. Sure, I'd be fine once the world stopped spinning so fast.

"Well, that's one way to use your head." I wanted to snort at Neji's comment, but it was lost in my throat when he continued. "He found the _Rocca Maggorie _hill path."

"Really?" I pushed myself to look up at the staircase behind me, and instantly grinned at the sight. Straight ahead we could see the castle, thought it seemed way too far away to be a direct run. Still, that didn't stop me from stumbling to my feet and darting up the cobble steps. "Let's go!"

"Wait up Naruto!" But I didn't want to wait. Sakura and the others would catch up soon, and I wanted to get there as soon as I could. After all it was getting pretty late in the day, and we were leaving Assisi soon. So I continued to jog up the steep stairs that seemed to continue forever. I was reminded of the Spanish steps because of the burning in my legs, but there weren't as many stairs. Slowly the cobblestone switched to a narrow dirt path that started to turn and wind through the trees of Assisi. I paused to look back, and nearly tripped off the side of the path when I realized the teme was now jogging behind me.

"Don't look so surprised dobe. I'm faster than you." Yea right! I growled and ran faster than before, easily continuing up the steep hill; like I was going to just let him insult me like that. My adrenaline must have kicked in, because before I knew it the long journey up the hill was over. I panted as I stared up at the paved street I had finally made it to, grinning despite how tired I was. Sure, Sasuke had kept up with me in the end, but at least he looked worn out too. We stood at the bottom of the pavement, seeing one last hill we had to climb to get to the top where the castle was. I snuck a glance back to see the others slowly starting to make the last stretch, but they were still pretty far away.

"You want to wait?" I jerked my head to look up at Sasuke, who seemed to have collected his composure enough to control his breathing. I barely let a moment pass before I stood up straight and rolled my eyes.

"They'll catch up. I'll race you to the top!" And without warning I shot up the worn out tar toward the top of the hill. The slope was tough but it didn't stop me from continuing up to my goal. And really, that was all you could call it. Because being able to stare out at the entire landscape of Italy was completely breathtaking to me. I gripped onto the steel guard rails that lined the hill, feeling some of the receding paint chip under my grip. Still I didn't care as my eyes wandered along the hundreds of miles around us. The city seemed so small compared to when we walked through the alleyways, and the only thing that stopped the view from continuing was the mountains that lined the horizon. You could see farms and towns, roads and vast areas of nothing but land. How many people in the world could see this? How many people were that lucky?

"Don't fall idiot." I looked over to Sasuke, who now sat leisurely on the stone bench that I was kneeling on. He seemed to press his hand to the surface, as if checking for security before leaning his back against the railing.

"I won't fall asshole." I pouted and glared away from him back out to the scenic view in front of me, which instantly made me relax. Closing my eyes halfway, I leaned my arms on the railing and lowered my voice slightly. "This is fucking awesome…"

"Hn." I turned to yell at him again for dismissing such an amazing view, but I stopped. Maybe he didn't voice it, but Sasuke was just as blown away as I was. His head was tilted toward the site, the notebook from before now sitting on his lap and his pencil perched to draw. His face was still stoic, but the relaxation in his posture was almost unbelievable to me. Sasuke _never _leaned. He was always poised and mannered like he was royalty or something. But for once in his life, Sasuke almost seemed to be enjoying himself.

I didn't know how long we stayed like that, but it was enough time to let the others catch up. I wondered why Lee hadn't been able to catch me and Sasuke (he was the fastest guy in our school) but then I realized he had stayed with Sakura to make sure she didn't overdue herself. He really did have the pink haired girl's best intentions at heart. The girls gawked and squealed at the sight, and made us pose along the railing for several pictures. Then they continued to scatter through the huge area to take each view in. Even Neji seemed impressed by the scenery when Lee dragged him to the edge of the hill, and to impress Neji was a big deal.

"Come on guys! We're going to go into the museum before we have to leave." I looked up from where I was standing to see Kiba waving to me and the others. Neji, Sakura, and Lee were already on their way over, and I moved to join them until my reflexes made me look to the bastard. He still sat in the same spot as before, continuing to draw. I hesitated before slowly giving into his emo ways.

"You guys go ahead; I've seen enough museums to last for the rest of my life!" I laughed when Kiba rolled his eyes at me and wrapped his arm around Hinata, following Shikamaru and Ino into the castle. I sighed when I watched them leave before I moved back over to my original spot, letting one leg hang over the guard rail. The other I rested against the inside of my left thigh, pressing the bottom of my shoe against my thigh. If he noticed I was there he didn't show it, seeming perfectly content to ignore me and continued on his art. Curious to see how much he had been able to do, I leaned on my hands and leaned my head over his shoulder. I nearly choked on my surprise when I realized how far he had gotten. Damn Sasuke was fast, and not sloppy either. I glanced between the art and the actual scene, and I couldn't believe that he had that much talent. Why the hell didn't he show it off?

"You're in the way."

"Teme you're friggen good at this. Why don't you tell people you draw? If I was able to draw a straight line, I'd so get my props for it!" I didn't move my head, forcing him to stop in his work.

"I'm not you."

"You're right. I'm too cool for you."

"Your conceitedness amazes me." I blinked once at his muttering before looking up at him, my nose slightly brushing his. When had I gotten that close? I let out a slow breath to try and pretend the intimacy didn't affect me. Out of habit I grinned, which seemed to only make his eyes narrow. "What?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're kind of girly looking?" I yelped when his notebook came in contact with my forehead. It didn't hurt as much as surprise me and I laughed when he pulled the weapon away and turned to face the view again. "It seems so."

"Be quiet. Your stupidity might spill out onto me." Apparently I hit a nerve from the way he insulted me. Sighing, I plopped down to sit facing the view, letting our shoulders brush.

"Fine fine, I won't say it again." I got a quiet scoff in return. I leaned both arms on the middle bar of the rail, continuously glancing between him and the landscape of Italy. "When did you start drawing anyways?"

"Seven." I was surprised he even answered me. I was so used to a snort or 'hn', it actually took me a minute to reply.

"Jesus that's a long time. Do you plan to make a career out of it?"

"No."

"Well why not?"

"Because I won't."

"Well that's a dumb answer!"

"And you're a dumb person. It evens out." I growled at him, but he seemed unaffected by it. Instead he looked back out at his model, as if deciding what part he wanted to draw next. Why the hell was he so evasive? Why couldn't he just open up? Why did he have to be so cold toward me?

Why did I even care?

"What color was I on your list?" Why the hell was I bringing that test up?! I seemed to catch him off guard too by the way he blinked and turned to look at me.

"Excuse me?" Well now I couldn't really back out of my statement. Sasuke probably wouldn't let it drop anyway. So I steeled my shaking nerves and tried to seem passive about the whole conversation with a roll of my eyes and a grin.

"The third question. What color was I?"

"It's not real. It doesn't matter." I felt my anger bristle at his dismissal of my question.

"That doesn't mean you have to keep them all secret! Come on, tell me," I whined, shaking his arm a bit. He sent me a glare that could make hell freeze over. Apparently I didn't mind the cold because I continued to shake the limb.

"Stop." His command made me only shake harder. It was fun getting Sasuke riled up, especially when he got the wrinkle in his nose from trying not to snap at me. When I had started to notice his habits I wasn't sure, but I stopped all thinking when his other hand shot out, grabbing my wrist and stopping all of my movements. It wasn't sure if it was his pressure or the touch that made me freeze. "I said…stop."

"Then tell me." He stared at me in silence, and I almost saw the thoughts processing through his mind. Then his hand tightened on my wrist, probably to keep me from pulling away.

"Who said you were even on my list?" I couldn't help the slight wince that came with the harsh question. I guess I never really thought he would leave me off the list. I kind of just assumed since I automatically put him on mine, he had to put me on his as well. And he seemed to use the same thought process. "Where was I on yours?"

"Who the hell said you were on mine?!"

"You made it obvious, dobe." I looked away at his smirk, feeling myself squirm in my spot. I couldn't exactly get away from him with his grip holding onto my wrist. And now that I unknowingly exploited he was on my list, I had no way of backtracking. When had this been turned to me? One slip of the tongue and now I was heading straight into a disaster. So I tried to weasel my way out of telling him the only way I knew how; insults.

"Bastard." But sometimes my mouth…

"Idiot."

"Jerk." Had a mind of its own…

"Loser."

"Teme." And I can't stop myself from blurting out…

"Dobe."

"Red!" The truth. I jerked my head so close to his I could hear the soft intake of breath from his mouth. I was blushing; I had been since I started the stupid insult exchange.

"Hn." I stared up in anger into two stoic onyx eyes, which watched my mouth struggle to open again.

"You were red." I felt like I needed to make it clear, even if my head was screaming at me for ever admitting that in some twisted way, my test said I was going to fall for the teme.

"The tests aren't real." Well that kind of felt like a punch in the gut. I ignored how bad that affected me in order to get my own answers.

"There, I fucking answered you. Now tell me where I was on your test." I could tell he was immediately set off by my commanding tone, but I was really too pissed to care. If he didn't even think the tests were real, why the _hell _did he want to know my answer? Why did he drag it out of me just to scoff at it and then dismiss it like nothing? I felt the hand at my side clench, and I would have decked him if I didn't notice the slight change in Sasuke's features. His lips were pressed tightly together, as if irritated by something he was going to say. The pressure on my wrist was gone, but he still held onto to me. The normally pale cheeks he was born with were tinted with the slightest discoloration I had ever seen on a person. And for a minute, I swore I saw an awkwardness in his gaze that I couldn't place under frustration or annoyance. It was almost like he was…_embarrassed _to speak.

"Orange." Meaning I was a true friend. Meaning I really wasn't just some kid that Sasuke dealt with because he had to. I went to roll my eyes and tell him he didn't have to make such a dramatic deal out of calling me his friend, but he wasn't done. "Yellow." Meaning he'd never forget me. I felt myself heat a bit at the realization that I meant more to Sasuke than I had thought. That maybe he was getting the same acceleration of his heartbeat, and maybe he was feeling the same swell of emotions running through him that I was. That somehow he also felt bothered and out of place when our eyes occasionally lingered on each other. "And…"

He fell silent afterwards, and my eyes widened in shock.

"You…" I swallowed to try and stop my voice from cracking again. Suddenly I felt too close to him, too far away. Like I needed to shove him and yank him closer at the same time. My stomach was practically doing summersaults while my breathing came out as a soft shudder. "You broke the rules."

"The test was fake."

"You're only…supposed to use a name once…"

"It wasn't real." Was he trying to convince me, or himself? Because as far as I was concerned, it didn't matter if the answers were true or not. But the proximity that continued to shrink between us and the lowering of our voices seemed to speak volumes about this unexplainable attraction.

"Teme." I was whispering now, because any louder might have made him pull back from this. What was this anyways? Whatever it was, neither of us seemed to care.

"The answers mean nothing." There was no Kakashi to stop us this time. And even if he was there, I wasn't sure my lips would have stopped from leaning up and claiming that mouth that talked too much for once in his friggen life. I closed my eyes tightly at the first touch of our lips, feeling a quick tenseness in his body. But he wasn't pulling away, and I wasn't going to half-ass the only kiss I may get. I didn't understand what the hell I was doing when I pressed firmly against his mouth, but the panic from my actions melted away when he slowly joined into the kiss and it was exhilarating. His fingers swept along the inside of my wrist, making my lips barely part at the unexpected shiver. The action seemed to affect him too, because the same hand pulled me closer on the bench while his tongue slipped along my lower lip. I let out a soft breath between our mouths, unsure what to do next. His patience seemed thin because another brush of his tongue came, and I finally parted my lips completely. It was his turn to waste time, because he continued to only brush my lower lip while we kissed. Somehow, the anticipation made my body shiver or squirm each time he pressed along my lower lip before retreating back to his own mouth.

Air became the enemy as I felt my lungs start to burn, and I finally pulled away from him in order to breathe. I hated how pathetic I sounded gasping for breath, especially when Sasuke seemed composed. Well, as composed as you could be once you kissed another guy senseless. His cheeks were still flushed and now his lips were starting to bruise from the pressure. I stared at the discoloration and felt a swell of pride inside myself. Who would have thought that Uzumaki Naruto would be the one to make Uchiha Sasuke's mouth swell? Then again, I could tell from the tingling in my mouth that my lips were probably looking pretty different too.

"Uh…" Shit, what do you say after something like that? I bit my lower lip to keep myself from groaning in frustration. What the hell had I just done? I kissed Sasuke. As in, mouth to mouth, lip to lip, tongue to…well, lower lip…gah! I didn't just kiss him, I _made out _with him. On a stone beck in public view! Sure the Italians were fine with homosexuality, but still! What if one of our friends had come out, or the entire group for that matter? What the heck would they think? But when we kissed…it just all came natural to me…there was no explanation for it. I closed my eyes tightly at all of the emotion I felt running through me.

I jumped when I felt a soft tap along my forehead. Slowly I looked up at Sasuke, who seemed to leash everything he was showing before. The soft fist rested against my forehead, and I mentally cursed for letting myself blush at how intently his eyes watched me. What did he want me to do? I had just molested him, wasn't that enough? Well, he did answer back. It was an equal molestation, right?

"Dobe." Why did he say it like that? Why wasn't there anger or annoyance in his voice? Actually, why was there even emotion _in _his voice? Sasuke was supposed to be the one who processed everything and then came up with the logical excuse or reasoning for why it happened. So then why hadn't he said anything else? And why was he staring at me? I knew my confusion was starting to overwhelm me.

"Naruto, Sasuke! You two better not be fighting again!" I jumped a bit and looked up to see Sakura calling us from the exit of the castle. From their angle, it probably looked like Sasuke was hitting me in the head, which was normal when it came to the two of us fighting. Thankfully, they were too far away to see my blush while I pushed Sasuke away from me, brushing my shirt off and cupping my hands to my mouth.

"It just comes natural to us!" Yea, so does making out apparently. But I ignored that voice in my head when I glanced back at Sasuke from over my shoulder, watching him slowly start to zip his bag. Once he slung it over his shoulder, we both headed back to the group. The group chatted about what they saw in the museum while we walked. The trip was slow down the path toward our meeting spot. I glanced at Sasuke from the corner of my eye, slightly frustrated by the fact he was staring off the other way. Well, until he looked at me. Then I looked away and got frustrated that he was looking at me.

"The stairs are going to suck going down." I heard Kiba say, drawing my attention from my racing thoughts. "They're pretty steep. One slip up and you'll get hurt."

"Then don't rush it. Just take it slow and don't think about falling down." Even though I knew Sakura was talking about the stairs, I felt uneasy with her words.

How could I take it slow when I wasn't even sure what _it _was?

**And that's the end of that! Whoo that's a lot of words! Haha I hope that you liked it because I slaved in order to get this chapter done! So they finally had their first intimate moment. So what did you think? Things are heating up in Italy, let's just hope Naruto doesn't have a panic attack! Reviews would be liked! Thanks a bunch!**

**Chapter 6: ****Forever in Florence**


	6. Club Confessions and Carousel Confusion

Hola! Como esta? Bien Bien! Haha I don't know where that came from but either way I'm happy! I hit my 350 mark with my other story and so I'm pumped! And I'm almost at my 200 mark for this one, so they're both doing way better than I expected! And it's all thanks to you guys! So here's the thank-yous! The first thank you is to **XSasuxNaruxForeverX, **I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter! And thank you for sparing my life! Haha! Now the rest. **Narutoisuke **(haha maybe, you never know with that tricky Sasuke!)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqeak **(haha I know that you're going to go even more crazy with this chapter, but one a couple chapters left!)**, XxFirexDance **(I love these things! Haha just make sure to have the towel toward the last couple chapters)**, CassieDoesntJumpXD **(and of course as soon as you say that, I screw up the time lines…-sighs- but I'll still be trying to get them back in order)**, blue-nuriel **(yup yup, the test is a real one! You can just look for it online, but it really won't work now since you already saw the answers…haha)**, Searafina **(haha he just put em as Yellow Orange and Red, but I think that's enough –winks- and I'm going to try to keep up this pace, but the chapters are starting to get more intense so please be patient with me!)**, norway22 **(Haha if they just went all out the first time, the story would be over! We've gotta let their feelings bubble and THEN get to that good stuff)**, Deathangelebz **(eep please don't hunt me down! I'm working as fast as my little fingers will let me, but I do have three assignments due for school so…)**, MysticMonique AKA Mina **(haha aw thank you very much for the compliment! I'm hoping that I'll keep making you happy!) **, asdf **(haha when do I rush anything? And yea, the cat part was probably one of my favorite things to write…cept the kiss of course)**, Exorcist-Miranda **(Naruto's cluelessness is going to continue in this one, but he's starting to get his own feelings in order)**, Ai Enmaxjigoku shoujo **(as long as you all like it, the slaving is worth it! Naruto likes to play by the rules so he only put Sasuke on one…now Sasuke on the other hand…-winks-)**, Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(well I guess you could say that you're right! Naruto does have a goof, but maybe not the way you think….=P)**, sakurananachan **(haha yay! I'm happy that you feel that way because I don't want you to think that they just randomly came alive for your pleasure, but are real people! Hope you keep on liking the story!)**, miskie27 **(haha we all love when they get involved in girly things, and try to be manly _and _heterosexual!)**, Nana-Riiko **(sweet! Happy that someone doesn't mind me keeping the relationship at a nice pace!)**, Itooshii Koneko **(haha I think it's amazing that you write as well as you do! Your reviews are fantastic, and I could never write in another language! And of _course _shika knows Italian, he knows everything else in this god damn world! Even Naru…-wink-)**, -Nightly Halo- **(haha well thanks for all the of the reviews! I'm happy that you like this story too!)**, Asylum Heist **(ow! Happiness stick? Haha something that seems to harmless can be really bad!)**, Akiru chan **(haha aw now you're making me feel bad since I got this out a day late! –whines- but I'm tryyyyying!)**, Lydia-chan **(yea, the test may not be real, but I'm sure we all will agree that it was a good result! =P)**, Pebbles of the Sand **(haha the sexual tension sure is heating up, but I'm sure that it's going to make people go crazy!)**, Chiaki Megumi **(haha I don't intend to make you wait, but I need to make sure to keep up my school work too! I'll try my best to do both)**, TheSilverEternity **(aw come on, he's not always that bad….-stops- okay, so he's always that bad, but at least he's hot doing it!)**, hollowsmile **(haha and yet he keeps denying that it's a real test…we all know that the answers are true)**, kat10788 **(haha I used to get the quiz a lot too, that's why I was like 'eh, maybe Sakura and Ino get it too'! Those silly girl magazines…)**, Dirty Little Rock Star **(I seem to make the readers anticipate a lot, even after I give them what they want! Haha)**, Midori-Apple **(Don't worry about not reviewing! I'm just happy that you liked the chapter! And that review really did! I can also see him as an artist because it's something that people can do on their own. And Naruto and Sasuke's fights are what make their relationship stronger!)**, perboss **(I'm glad that you like the story so far! And yea the romance was short, but the heat will get stronger)**, Wopsidaisy **(haha well he just sees them as friends, so when they he does realize what they are he's gonna be like 'wtf!!')**, zerofangirl **(haha don't worry about the school thing, because apparently people have been missing school for me….-sighs- and I'm happy that you liked the chapter so much! Sorry about the switch of the title though)**, serlene **(haha yea I try to add a chapter every couple of days, so hopefully you won't be disappointed!) **, robin Maxwell **(I do not plan to give on this story ever! Haha so please do not worry about that! And stop skipping school to read, that's not a good thing! –looks at other readers who have done it- uh….all of you stop!)**, mockup **(haha I don't ever intend to have a sex scene in the second paragraph! Well, unless it's like, the fifth chapter or something! But I'm glad that you like the slowness of the chapters) **, a rather slytherin griffindor **(haha oh boy, apparently you're going to have a lot of loving in your life! But yea, it's the first Naru move, maybe not the last –winks-)**, MasochistandSadist **(finally I appease both of you! Haha and yes, I've missed both of you so don't worry! Thanks for the long sweet review, I'm happy)**, Disgruntled Minion **(I'm happy that I got you to laugh! I hope that you enjoy the chapter and it makes you feel good again!)**, Nekoma-chan **(haha I would never say this is perfect, but I'm happy that you enjoy the read! The story will probably be done in two weeks so you have to tell me how you like the end)**, Lost Kin **(haha well then hold your breath for the club scene,…that's all I'm saying…-grins-)**, Chiru-lili **(a hole?! Eep! Haha now I'm scared for your health! I'm happy that you found the coffee part, I tried to make it sexy and funny)**, SilverMoonRose13 **(steamy like coffee! –winks-, but yea, we want to make sure that our boys don't go crashing down!)**, COFF33MAN1A **(damn my tour guide lied! Haha maybe they used them for both? I can't really imagine them swimming along the nasty roads!)**, roxxihearts **(Imagine if they had a little 'coffee' together huh!? I think that would be the one time that I would actually like coffee)**, **and **Lilbakasaru **(haha Sai back in Pompeii! Imagine him rolling around in his grave when Sakura stepped on it!)

And now a big, big thanks to my Beta **Sasuchan, **because without her you'd never be able to read this whole damn thing through without shooting me!

Oh! And Sorry about the title change, I didn't expect a certain part of this to take so long so it kind became an added chapter I wasn't planning on…hehe….anyways…let's go!

**Club Confessions and Carousel Confusion**

To say the bus ride home wasn't awkward would be like saying Lee thought youthfulness wasn't in season; a complete load of bullshit. Not to say that anyone else noticed, since they were too busy chatting about Iruka's directions when we got to the next hotel. Apparently Kakashi had decided we all needed to take a break from the historical parts of Italy and enjoy the modern aspects. And so he somehow convinced Iruka that treating us to an Italian dance club would be the best way to experience life in Florence. The whole group seemed completely ecstatic about it.

And I would have been, if I wasn't still mentally freaking out about kissing Sasuke. Why had I done that? I sent a weak glance from the window over to him, watching his silent drawing that he had been indulged in since the bus left Assisi. I wondered if he realized he scrunched his face when he made a mistake. It caused a wrinkle along the bridge of his nose, and I flushed when I realized how intently I was watching him. Crap, how long had I been staring? I ran my fingers through my hair to try and shake my feelings before I pulled my gaze back to the window. We hadn't spoken since we left. He kept drawing and I kept trying to keep my eyes off of him.

It was harder than I thought, especially at dinner, when I had to sit directly in front of him. Why did I always get stuck at tables with him? Not that we spoke, since that seemed to be the taboo now. Instead he kept all of his quiet conversation with Neji while I chatted away with Sakura. I had a feeling Sakura knew something was up by the way she kept switching her gaze between me and the teme, but she didn't speak up. Maybe she somehow knew that we were going to fix it on our own. Whether we wanted to or not.

"Sakura, do you know where the bathroom is?" I asked, looking away from the delicious food they had given us to watch her wave to her right. "Thanks!"

"Mhm," she replied, her mouth too full to make an actual word. I laughed and moved to the hallway she pointed at, jumping over the few stairs that lead down into a smaller hallway. I knew I had found the bathrooms when I reached the end of the hall, but my happy discovery slowly turned into confusion. I blinked once and continued to dart my eyes between the two plain white doors. Alright, so I knew I was in the right place because there were no other doors in the area. But apparently the restaurant wasn't used to tourists coming in, because there were only two Italian words written on the bathroom. Both of which I couldn't decipher. Sure that tape told me how to ask about a bathroom, but not about which gender for one! How was I supposed to know if I was walking into a girl's room or not?!

"Only you could get confused using the bathroom, dobe." I wondered for a moment why not talking to Sasuke had bothered me. Especially when he came up with stupid insults like that. I turned my head to see him casually walking into the hallway, standing next to me to stare at the two doors. By the look on his face, it was evident that he realized the same thing I did. Not that he'd ever admit it. "Hn."

"Yea teme, I was thinking the same thing." I let out a slow breath and looked back to the puzzle in front of us. "So which one do we use?"

"Push the door open and look."

"Why can't you?!"

"Because I thought of the idea." I growled weakly at his reasoning, but moved forward anyways. Making sure the door wasn't locked; I pushed open the first door and glanced around. Alright, that was _no _help. The thing looked, well…foreign. There was a toilet, and something next to it that looked like a toilet cut halfway up sitting next to it. Shikamaru had told me what it was the first time we had discovered one in our hotel bathroom, but I couldn't remember the name. I just knew people used it to clean their 'parts' according to the braniac. Then there was a sink, but you really couldn't tell shit from that. I groaned and looked back to Sasuke, shrugging.

"Well there's no urinal."

"So check the other one."

"Why do I have to do all the dirty work?" He glared at me and I stuck my tongue out in reply.

"Childish." Of course he'd say something like that. I rolled my eyes and pushed the second door open to see a mirror replica of the first. Well that wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

"They're both the same." We paused in our conversation to let the information sink in. Alright, so both bathrooms were the same, had no English signs and both of us had to pee. Now what were we going to do?

"So uh…are we just going to use the same one or what?" He continued to glare at the language while I stared at him. He was not happy with being outsmarted by a bathroom door. Even though his face showed almost nothing but indifference, I could tell he as mad. He really looked cute when he did that nose wrinkle thing. I shook my head at the thought to focus at the situation at hand. "You going to answer me or what?!"

"You take the right one." He moved forward to the other door, glancing over to me while he pushed it open. "If they're both the same, it doesn't matter which one we use."

"Yea it does!"

"Why?"

"Neither one of us are girls. It's just wrong!" For some reason, the outburst made all conversation stop. Like somehow, I just stepped into a huge 'no-no' zone. But really I hadn't said anything too crucial. We both were guys. There were just certain things that were fact. Men shared the same bathroom. They didn't go into a female's bathroom because the sexes weren't supposed to clash. Why? Because it was what we were taught since we were born! Men and women only got that intimate during sex, unlike two men. Guys didn't have…

Oh.

"Hn." But I knew he wanted to say more as he shoved into the bathroom. Probably something like 'I doubt you were taught to kiss guys' or 'who says being wrong is always bad?'. Really things that Sasuke would never say, but could pretty much voice with a glare or snort. I glared to the door in front of me when I pushed it open. This was all the door's fault. If one of them could just say male or female, we'd never have gotten into that mess. I wouldn't have talked to Sasuke, and I wouldn't have shoved a damn foot in my mouth. It wasn't like I was trying to say what _we _did was wrong, because I didn't think it was.

I just…wasn't _used_ to it yet. I mean, give a guy a break here. After liking girls, or thinking I did, suddenly switching to liking a guy was hard, confusing, and more trouble than I wanted. Not to mention it was Sasuke! I mean out of any guy that I could have started to find sexually appealing, it had to be him. That was probably harder to accept than the actual 'homosexual' piece.

Not like any of these excuses would leave my mouth the entire rest of the dinner. We were deadly silent when we climbed into our seats to take the quick bus ride back to the new hotel we were staying at. I couldn't stop looking back to him now. It was even harder now, knowing his inner Sasuke was probably fuming, more than it had been before. Times like these really needed a 'redo' button.

"Look at the fucking bathroom! I could swim in that tub!" But this hotel room was seriously making everything easier to deal with. I laughed and turned back to Shikamaru as he shrugged off his backpack, dropping it next to the other bags he had brought on the trip. I change the direction of my gaze when Sasuke moved into my vision, moving it around the room that was painted much brighter than the dusky walls of the Rome hotel. Each wall was covered with a cream paint to match the sheets on all three beds. But the best part of the entire room was the double glass doors that opened up to the balcony. Yea, that's right. We got our own _balcony._ This place was definitely better than the last.

"Hurry up Naruto, we don't have all day. We're walking over there in like, ten minutes!" I pushed the glass doors open and looked out to see Sakura on the balcony to my left, waving.

"Sakura? What are you doing over there?" I asked, blinking.

"Iruka got all the rooms messed up, so we're next to you guys for the next two days!" I grinned at the new discovery. I already knew Kiba's room was on the other side, but having Sakura and the girls made it even better. She must have said something because when I didn't answer, I got a roll of the eyes. "Now let's go, the dance club isn't going to wait for us!"

"Alright alright we'll be out in a minute. Bossy women…" I shut the doors before Sakura could yell (or throw something) at me. Looking back, I instantly flushed at what I saw. "Gah!"

"What dobe?" What? Oh I don't know, maybe the fact was practically naked in front of me! Well, okay he had his pants on so he wasn't technically naked. But wasn't he supposed to be a privacy freak? He can't brush his teeth with me but he can strip?

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Changing." Okay, so I kind of asked for a stupid answer.

"Put some clothes on!" I snapped, turning to face the wall. I wasn't sure if I made it in time to cover the blush that practically scalded my face. I heard a slight shuffling behind me which both relaxed and disappointed me. I wasn't even going to try and figure that one out. "Where did Shikamaru go?"

"Went down to the lobby with Ino." His voice sounded muffled, probably from his shirt going over his head or something. I wonder if his stomach muscles would be strained…okay turning off all thoughts.

"Oh." See, mind process was shut down. And it would have gone straight into hibernation if I didn't feel his hand slide onto my shoulder blade. If it was anyone else, I would have seen it as a friendly gesture to get my attention. But since it was Sasuke, I shivered. How did his touch seem so much different than Sakura or Kiba's? Well, besides that fact that neither of them were making out with me two hours ago. This was why I wanted to shut my mind off!

"Stop daydreaming. We're leaving." I jerked my head back to look at him, but he was already on his way toward the door. Alright, so he was still angry. I mentally beat myself up the entire way down the stairs and into the huge lobby that seemed way too expensive for a group of high school kids to be staying in. The floors were practically sparkling, and everything looked luxurious and classy. Even the doors looked eloquent. I finished taking in the sites when Iruka and Kakashi came down the stairs, the latter seeming quite happy with something he had done. Whatever it was seemed to make Iruka pissed, because his cheeks were completely flushed.

"I wonder what's got Iruka so pissed." I leaned closer to Sakura, who blinked at my whispered statement before looking at the two adults. Whatever she saw made her smile, and left me thoroughly confused.

"He's not mad."

"What? But look at him!"

"Don't worry about it Naruto. You wouldn't understand." Now what was that supposed to mean?! I was used to getting called stupid by Sasuke, but now Sakura too? This was getting a little out of hand.

"I'm not dumb you know." But she didn't have time to confirm or deny because Iruka finally seemed to control his anger.

"Alright guys, we're going to be heading to the Space Electronic nightclub so that you can relax for a little while. There is a bar in the club, but if any of you are caught drinking any type of alcohol at this bar, you'll be leaving the club immediately and a call home will be made. Now we do have an early day tomorrow, and we won't be waiting for people to roll out of bed five minutes before the bus leaves. We'll be back at the hotel around midnight, so I expect everyone to be in bed by 12:30. Is that clear?" Was it 'pick on Naruto' day or something? Because I'm pretty sure that Iruka glanced at me three times during that lecture. Really the scene was getting old.

I soon discovered that it was not, in fact, 'pick on Naruto' day. No, it was 'let's make Naruto's like as horrible as possible' day. Not only was Sasuke angry at me, Sakura calling me stupid, and Iruka treating me like a three-year old, but now fan girls kept running ahead of me to try and talk to Sasuke. I know this seems completely out of context and some people may not understand what this has to do with me. So I'll break it down as simply as I can. A club equals music, right? Music means that people will be dancing with other people. And dancing is a very close and sometimes intimate thing. Normally the pair is either two girls or one girl, one boy. Sasuke is a boy with a group of fangirls who now see this as an opportunity to get close to Sasuke. So to answer my question of why I'm involved, it-

Wait, how _am_ I involved? I mean, yeah, we had a moment. But that doesn't mean anything. For all I knew, Sasuke could just be test driving the idea of being gay. I paused at that thought before quickly moving past it. No, that wasn't it. If it was, he wouldn't be mad at me right now. And he was mad, because I had said we were 'wrong'. Which meant he thought we were 'right'…right? This whole thinking thing was really starting to hurt my head more than I liked. Between the minor headache and the giggling fangirls, I was starting to think that tonight was not my lucky night.

"Oh wow! Look at this place!" Sakura's excited chatter brought me out of my somber thoughts as I looked up to the neon lights that hung over the entrance. Even though I was a little confused, I couldn't help but start to get excited over the loud music that was playing from the inside. Sakura grabbed my wrist before I even had time to speak and dragged me into the narrow entrance where the rest of our friends were crammed into. There was a line (what do you expect with a group of forty people suddenly coming in?), but it didn't seem to bother Ino as she tried to take in all of the sights.

"They've got strobe lights and a fog machine! It's even got cages to dance in!" At the speedy talking, Shikamaru leaned against the wall and sighed.

"What a drag."

"Shikamaru! Ugh, can't you just enjoy something for once in your life?" Ino asked, glancing to him and sliding her hands on her hips. He gave her a bored stare and looked over to the dance floor again.

"They have nice couches on the side."

"Shika!" The group laughed when Ino hit him, and even I started to feel more relaxed than before. This, apparently, was a sign for the gods to make me uncomfortable again. I glanced over to Sakura, who seemed to be too distracted by something to continue to pay attention to the fight between Ino and Shikamaru.

"Sakura?" I got a bit concerned when she didn't answer. Shaking her shoulder slowly, I felt the muscles jump in surprise. She was really out of it. "Sakura, what the heck are you looking at?"

"Oh! Uh…nothing Naruto." Rolling my eyes at the obvious lie, I glanced toward the dance floor we were waiting to be admitted to. Straining my eyes to look through the fog and lights, I could barely make out the people that were clumped together. And really, nothing seemed to be too interesting to me. Well, until I finally understood what Sakura was looking at. Thank the gods the night club was mainly dark, because my cheeks rose in color faster than I could try and conceal. Italy, apparently, was _very _accepting of homosexuality. There, right smack dab in the eye vision of anyone who wanted to see, was two guys. And no, that's not it. Two guys who were dancing together in a very uh…un-guy way. I wouldn't be surprised to find out their hips were glued together, or their mouths for that matter. The whole scene made me squirm a bit in discomfort.

And here I was thinking it was a big deal to kiss Sasuke.

"Are you two watching guys make-out?" I jumped and jerked my head sharply away from the scene to look at Kiba, the whole group seeming to ask the same question with their eyes. I heard Sakura laughing weakly behind me, but I chose to stay quiet. I mean, what was I really going to say? 'No, I was just glancing off in space, and so was Sakura, and we both just _happened _to be looking at the same space that two boys kissing were in'? Alright, I was _sure _that would work.

"They're so cute!" Eh? I blinked once and Ino giggled, pulling a blushing Hinata closer to her and speaking again. "Aren't they adorable Hinata?!"

"U-Um…" But by the way she continued to blush and glance at the two dancing guys; I could tell she was appreciating them.

"It is the act of youth between two fortunate lovers. How I wish to be a simple pawn in the game of true love." Heck, even Lee seemed to be okay with the two guys! Feeling luckier than I had all day, I sent a hesitant glance to Neji. After all, he seemed to be the guy who followed tradition to a tee, but when I simply saw the older Hyuga roll his eyes and sigh at his best friend's lovesick words, I felt like some unknown weight was lifted off my shoulders. Who knew my friends were so accepting? A lot of our town was buried under the tradition of male and females having to be together. Our state was liberal, but our town was definitely conservative when it came to gay marriage. That was probably why I was having such a hard time. Sure I didn't have a problem with two girls being in love, or two guys kissing, but once it came to _me _being fascinated with other guys, I didn't really know how to deal with it. I was never taught anything positive about homosexuality. Well, except Kakashi. He was such a pervert; he didn't even flinch at the topic. He'd normally just smile and shrug, saying something like 'to each their own pleasure'. He was like my dad in that way I guess.

"You guys are really okay with homosexuality?"

"Why not? It's not like any of us have a choice in who we like. You can be okay with people being with the same sex and not wanna do it." At Kiba's shrug I felt myself flush a bit.

"Yea! Why would we get annoyed with people being in love? That's stupid Naruto." Ino seemed to take my flushing as disgust or anger instead of embarrassment, because she glared at me. "Why, are you against it or something?"

"What? No!" I shook my head quickly shaking my head. But she didn't seem to completely be accepting of my quick answer. Her lips quirked a bit before she continued.

"Just because people aren't like you doesn't mean that they're wrong, you know." Alright, now it was a full smile. I felt thrown off by the look and stumbled to get through a loud reply.

"I-I didn't say that!"

"And discriminating just because somebody is a different sexual orientation isn't fair." She shook her finger at me, but she was still smiling. The more she smiled, the louder I got. How could she smile during something like this?

"Ino I—"

"It's just like being sexist or racist now. People have the right to be happy!" That was it! I couldn't take the stupid grin anymore!

"Ino…" I growled out. And let me pause to tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a boy. The boy had a big mouth. This big mouth decided to open itself and spew out the stupidest things it could think of. One of them was to reveal the boy's most embarrassing secret as loud as it possibly could. And what, you may ask, was this secret. Well since the big mouth couldn't shut for shit, it's going to tell you. "I was looking because I was interested! I'm gay aright?!"

To say the group fell silent would be an understatement. Hinata and Sakura both stared like I expected everyone to look at me. Well, maybe not Lee because he was accepting of almost anything. Right now he practically had hearts in his eyes at the mention of me knowing about my sexuality. Don't worry, I didn't get him either. Shikamaru seemed almost expecting of the information, which made me feel more uncomfortable than the staring. He was _that _smart? I didn't even bother to look to Neji or Kiba, because I knew that I would probably die of shame or embarrassment. Sasuke already knew, so why he seemed almost surprised I wasn't sure. I mean hell, wasn't the kiss enough to kind of suggest we were gay? Or at least bisexual? I didn't want to think of the possibility that Sasuke didn't realize it yet. Instead I turned my focus back onto Ino, who seemed strangely pleased with herself.

"Well I could have told you that, Naruto." She flicked between my eyes and it caused me to wince.

"What the hell was that for?!" I shouted, rubbing the spot with my fingers. I was both angry and completely mortified by the fact that so many people knew what I hadn't even realized until today. When had the world turned upside-down on me?

"For being an idiot and thinking you had to hide that kind of stuff from us. We're you're friends you know!" Yeah, like I really was trying to hide it. Even though I felt like a fire engine from all of the flushing, I had to reply.

"Well it wasn't like I…I tried to hide it or something."

"Kit." Aw crap. I didn't want to, but I slowly turned my gaze over to look at Kiba's smirking face. Well, I guess a smirk was better than a scowl.

"What dog-breath?" I mumbled slowly, forcing myself to meet his gaze. Kiba had been a good friend of mine for years. I didn't want anything to change. But I mean, how could he see me the same way after finding out I was gay?

"You better not drool over my hot body when we work out. " Was that…a joke? I could only assume my face showed how floored I was because Kiba laughed and continued to tease me. "I mean I know I'm sexy, but you're going to have to contain yourself."

"Oh please, as if you're even his type! I'm sure Naruto doesn't want a meat-head for a boyfriend." Ino rolled her eyes as she spoke, probably because my jaw was too low on the floor to speak.

"Aw guys don't pick on Naruto." I felt a comforting arm around my shoulder. Sakura sent me a slight smile before scolding the two in front of us. "He's probably just getting used to all of this. Having you two taunting him isn't going to make it any easier."

"We're just having some fun, we don't really mean it." As if to prove his point, Kiba punched the side of my arm like we did when we played football or watched a game on TV. Like we've always done.

"You're all…really…"

"Okay with it? We just explained this five minutes ago. The rules don't change just because it's you, ya know. Go ahead and wave your rainbow flag." I managed my first glare at Kiba for the comment.

"I don't have a god damn flag!"

"Well I know what to get you for your birthday next year."

"I'm going to kill you!" And I would have if Sakura hadn't squeezed my shoulder to remind me that I was still attached to her.

"Let's save the fighting until after the trip. We're here to party you know." Well she did have a point. Not to mention that were almost at the front of the line, and I really didn't want to get in trouble for wasting my time with dog-breath. So slowly I unclenched my fist, turning my head away from Kiba and tilting it upward.

"Fine." So it was a little childish. In fact, I was surprised the teme didn't comment about it. Speaking of him…I looked to where he stood from the corner of my eye, slightly disappointed to realize his surprise was mostly gone. I guess I should have known my accidental admission would shock him. Between Assisi, the bathroom, and just now, my mouth was getting a serious work-out. I meant what I said on the bench. I meant what I said here. I wasn't so sure about this feeling being 'wrong'. In fact, I kind of liked how it felt to know Sasuke was watching me. My pride was completely against it, but I was starting to think it was okay to cage the tiger every once in a while. The sheep had to have time to be free, too.

I let the guy at the entrance of the dance floor tag my hand before stepping onto the wooden floor and letting Sakura drag me to dance. Really with dancing it didn't matter what sex you preferred to be with. Swinging around with Sakura or striking disco poses with Lee was all the same. Completely and utterly stupid looking, but totally worth it for all the fun we had. The place had an eccentric mix of Italian and English music, which was almost all rap, techno, or party songs. Shikamaru seemed perfectly content watching our group from the sidelines, and the moments I did need a rest I could see why he enjoyed the body-molding couch cushions. Sasuke leaned against the column next to where we were all partying, and despite my glances he wouldn't step foot onto the dance floor. Neji, however, wasn't able to avoid the same fate.

"I'm not doing that." The glare should have made me and Lee stop what we were doing and run away in fear. But I was stupid and Lee was passionate, so it didn't work so well.

"Come on Neji! You've just got to put your hands up and make little ducks with them!" I waited until the part of the 'the chicken dance' song came to the ducks, showing him how to 'be a duck'.

"No."

"Then flap your arms!" Which I proceeded to flap arms like a chicken. His glare intensified.

"No."

"Take it away Lee!" And I laughed when Lee starting to shake his whole body at the 'I just want to be me' line. Really the song was ridiculous, but everyone had to dance to it once. In fact, I could see Ino pulling Shikamaru to the dance floor as we worked with Neji. Deciding that _everyone _had to do it, I made a daring move. "You keep working with Mr. Stiffy here; I'm going to go get the teme."

"I will prevail! You must as well, Naruto!" I nodded enthusiastically at Lee before moving toward my new target. Sasuke saw me coming, which was evident from the slight eyebrow raise he gave me. I tried to shake off the thoughts of our three previous encounters to grin at him.

"Let's go teme! You're going to dance whether you want to or not!" He scoffed at my proclamation before scanning the dance floor with his eyes.

"Why would I want to make a fool of myself? That's your job." His eyes returned to mine, and I scowled. I was a fool for having fun?

"You've gotta be kidding me! I'm just having fun; I'm not trying to make a statement or anything like that. Stop thinking about everything so critically." Without thinking I reached forward and grabbed his hand. I yanked him a bit, and I was surprised at how easily he let me pull him from the pole he was leaning against. I was even more shocked when the hand that I had grabbed didn't jerk away from my touch. We stood in front of each other for a moment, and I hated how I had to look up in order to keep his stare. Really it was because he was standing so close to me. Who even said the teme had that right anyways? I should have hit him. But at the moment, my brain was scrambling to think of what I was aiming to do before I got stuck on his gaze. He should come with a warning label. Something like 'do not look directly in eyes, for you will lose all intelligence and your stomach will turn to goo'. Yeah, that sounded about right.

"I have to think when a certain _dobe_ is around. Unlike your muddled brain, I think of the consequences of losing my mind." How did he make an insult sound so sexy? I mean really, his voice shouldn't drop like that. It shouldn't make my toes start to curl in my shoes. I let out a weak breath when his head dipped closer to mine. Was Sasuke going to kiss me? I mean, I had said I was gay, yeah. But Sasuke was still in the clear. All he had to do was not lean down, not make my eyes close, not breath against my lips. But now that he had, I was really struggling to remember why it was so bad for him to kiss me. I mean, what was one little kiss going to do? It was dark over here, and it wasn't like they were all watching us. Wait, were they? I closed my eyes tighter when his free hand pressed to the side of my hip, brushing just under the t-shirt I wore. Suddenly, my mind didn't really care.

"Teme." It was a natural reaction to insult him when nothing else in my mind worked. It wasn't natural to hear my breath hitch when his hand tightened along my waist.

"Dobe." It was natural to hear an insult in return. It wasn't natural to feel the insult rumbling against my lips. But then again, who said all natural was better anyways? The way my weakened knees saw it, artificial was much better. I faintly heard the changing of the song, and I wasn't sure why that mattered to me. Especially with us hovering this close to a repeat of today. But somehow, through the unfairness of the world, my pride reared its ugly head and reminded me of the dance I didn't get. Torn between body and mind, I actually whined. Something that didn't go unnoticed. "What?"

"Damnit." Maybe I said it more to myself than him, because I certainly hated the other half of me that was demanding I didn't give into Sasuke. What I saw as pleasure, my pride saw as weakness. And sadly, both of us agreed that we were anything but weak. So mustering everything I could, I pushed myself away from Sasuke and spoke. "You're going to dance damnit."

"Hn." Maybe I was just getting better at reading Sasuke's facial expressions, but I knew that Sasuke was not exactly pleased with my decision. But even as he sulked (which he denied), I got Sasuke to dance. It was only a few seconds, my hands were moving his arms, and he seemed completely appalled by the idea of dancing to a song that said 'all these bitches crawl', but it was still a dance. And I bragged about it the entire way home, despite how tired everyone was. Even Sasuke seemed to pass out as soon as he crawled into his bed. The club had made me wired with energy, but I managed to get rid of it through a warm shower. Finally the affects of sleep were starting to wear me down, so I decided it was safer to pass out in my bed than somewhere on the floor.

I stared up at the ceiling, letting everything from the day hit me. Me and Sasuke had kissed, a lot. We had almost kissed again, which I was assuming would have been a lot too. I had unconsciously spilled about my newfound sexuality, and somehow I was starting to accept my feelings about it. But Sasuke hadn't said anything during the discussion, and even when we were alone he didn't speak up. I glanced over to him, watching how easily his mask slipped from his face when asleep. It was like seeing a completely different person. He'd frown or part his lips without thought, and his eyes would scrunch whenever something seemed to bother him in his dream. There were times when he seemed relaxed, and actually content with whatever he was thinking of. I couldn't help but question if I fit in that dream somewhere. Which facial expression did I make him use? I was so entranced watching him, I didn't realize until the next morning that I had fallen asleep to it. Not that I'd ever tell someone that!

The morning was more of a blur than anything else. Between getting ready, grabbing a quick breakfast, and scrambling onto the bus, I hardly had time to even blink before we were standing in front of some fountain. And to my left, there were more weird statues. In fact the whole square had statues! What the hell was this anyways?

"The _Piazza Della Signoria._ Basically the most famous square in Florence. It's widely known for their sculptures that are places in the square such as the 'Fountain of Neptune'and the copy of Michelangelo's 'David'." Shikamaru was really getting good at this tour guide thing. All we had to do was get him to wave his arms a bit more and it'd be like the umbrella lady back in Rome. To say that she was not missed would be an understatement.

"What do you mean copy? I'm pretty sure that thing looks real." He sighed and nodded to the statue he had been looking at.

"The real one is at the Gallery of the Academy of fine arts. It's still in Florence, just somewhere where it can be watched and not vandalized. The Fountain of Neptune has been broken and destroyed several times over the years, and so the statue is safer in the academy."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Although I really didn't get what the point of destroying the stuff here was. Sure me and Kiba had our fun back home, but we never actually broke stuff. And the stuff we did write on weren't pieces of art. That'd be more rude than fun.

"Alright guys, pull it in." Iruka sounded like a coach trying to get his team into a huddle. Either way it worked, because out attention was pulled from the artwork to look up at him. "Today you're going to be able to go off on your own. I suggest that you go see the _Uffizi _¸which has beautiful sculptures on either side of its walkway. It's to the right of the square. Also know that there is a whole other side of Florence across the bridge that you should go explore. However, please make sure to be back here by six, because of our reservations. Besides that, have a nice day and enjoy the several historical places in the city." He waved us off like a mother does during the first day of school. Really, he had to be a teacher in a past life or something because he was too good at it. Unlike a certain pervert, who didn't even know where his class was half of the time. Why my dad even let him become a teacher I'll never understand.

But I totally forgot about Kakashi when we moved all through the town of Florence. We started with Iruka's suggestion and hung around the _Uffizi _to check out all the neat creations of art it had. Hinata had been thoroughly scared when she went up to one of the cupid sculptures, only to realize it was a human painted as a statue. Shikamaru explained later than some people make a living off of pretending to be statues and letting people take pictures with them. Sure it seemed a little weird to us, but costumes were practically the same thing. Didn't we dress up every Halloween in order to get treats and prizes given to us? The idea was just taking a childish holiday and making it into a 9-5 job.

After that we onto the _Ponte Vecchio_, which is really just a strip of buildings that were put over the river that went through Florence. It didn't look much different than the other parts of Florence, because it seemed like a normal street. Building and signs seemed to blend in more as you ventured on through the huge city. Somehow we managed to stumble onto the _Santa Maria del Fiore, _which made no sense because we had tried to go the other way. The minor slip up should have been a warning for what would happen later on that night. But instead of thinking about it, Sakura took the slip-up as an opportunity to explore the symbol of Florence city. By the time we sifted our way back to the meeting spot, we still had two hours left to kill.

"So what are we doing next?" I glanced around energetically at the others, who seemed to be completely unresponsive to my question. Apparently, the day wore them out much faster than me.

"I swear to god he has something living inside of him. There is no way that he's able to have this much energy." I rolled my eyes at Ino's complaint before patting my stomach and grinning.

"This is all me! Not my fault you all have weak bodies." I grinned for a moment until I got hit over the head. "Damnit!"

"I'm not weak." Sakura sure could get scary when she wanted to prove a point. I nodded quickly in order to avoid another hit to head. She seemed satisfied with my obedience when she turned to the group and giggled. How she was able to switch I'd never get. "Let's lead over to the other side of the bridge! I want to go see the actual statue of David before we have to go."

"Well, I guess I'll go with billboard on this one."

"Stop calling me that Ino-pig!" The two girls stared at each other for a second before pouting, glaring away like little kids. I _guess _I could see where Sasuke was coming from when he called that childish. Not that I was going to tell him.

"I…I think I-I'll stay here." I glanced over to Hinata, who quietly walked over to Ino and held out a map. "Please…I-I got two from the hotel. Just s-so you won't get lost."

"If we do, I'll write an 'S.O.S' on Sakura's forehead." Ino winked to us before she quickly ran toward the bridge, a steaming pink haired girl quickly following behind.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru glanced over to Lee, sighing. "You wanna go after them?"

"Of course! We would not want those two lovely ladies to be left alone in the depths of Florence. Who knows what men would come after our maidens?" I don't think Shikamaru expected Lee to latch onto his arm. Well, at least Neji seemed to be prepared for the attack, because he didn't try to fight when the absurdly strong male linked arms and dragged them along the path that the two girls had blazed down. I could faintly hear Lee's shouts echoing through the air, but it disappeared after a few seconds. Man that kid ran fast.

"Hey Hinata, why did you wanna stay here? Don't you normally hang out with the girls?" Hinata blushed slightly as I directed the attention to her, and she tightened her grip on her own map before fumbling to put it in her bag.

"I-Its ju-just…there's something here…I want to do."

"What's that?"

"She wants to find the _Piazza della Repubblica_. It's some square a couple blocks from here," Kiba explained, grabbing the map gently from Hinata and sliding it into the front pocket of her backpack. Really I never thought Kiba could really be_ soft _with people. Between his rough housing at school and his physical answers to almost any problem in life (like beating up the microwave when it didn't work right), I never saw a soft side to him. But when he was with Hinata, he sure knew how to take care of her. And since she was so naturally skittish, I was amazed she wasn't scared away by his huge personality. But then again, the better things in life really couldn't be explained through words, huh?

"Well then let's go there!" Hinata seemed shocked by my willingness to go without actually knowing where we were headed, but I brushed it off. People seemed to give me that look a lot.

"Wh-what about Sasuke?" She asked, and I blinked before I looked around. Sure enough, Sasuke was still around and now staring at some sculpture underneath an archway. I sighed slowly and looked to the two, waving them forward as I started to walk toward the teme.

"I'll go get him, but it may take a while. He's got his notebook out, which means he's sketching. I'll meet you back in front of the fountain in twenty and we'll head over to the square together."

"Alright kit, but don't get into a fight with him. The last thing we need to have you two draw attention to yourselves." Kiba was starting to sound like Iruka. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of that before jogging over to where Sasuke stood, glancing between him and the statue. Really the 'scene' it was showing made no sense. First off, everyone was half naked. One of the guys was holding a woman in the air, while the other was just crouching under them. What the heck was going on? I hesitated to break the concentration that Sasuke was putting into his sketch, but proceeded after a few minutes of silence.

"So uh…are they having a party or something?" He scoffed and paused in his drawing to look over at me.

"It's the _Rape of the Sabine Women_, it's not a party." I stared in shock and glanced back up at the painting.

"What?! Why the hell would they show something like that in public? I mean yea the Italians are more accepting of crap but raping a woman is a little bit disturbing! And why the hell are you sketching it you perverted asshole?"

"You idiot," Sasuke said, turning his attention back on his sketch book. "Rape doesn't always mean sexual assault. Its origin is _raptio, _which means 'kidnapping'. The Sabine were people who had populated the area before the Romans, and had women that they were unwilling to give up. So the Romans took them by force. That is what this scene is portraying."

"Oh." Well I guess that made sense. Romans were known to just take over people that didn't want to listen to them. Or at least that's what Shikamaru told me. "How did you know all of that anyways?"

"I read about the sculpture before I came here. I knew we were visiting this square, and I wanted to know what I was drawing." Even as he explained his knowledge of the sculpture, his head continued to shift between looking at the sketch and the real statue. He really liked art, didn't he? At first I thought he was just saying it was a hobby or something, but Sasuke had actually researched and studied the pieces of art that he knew we were going to visit. He had probably gone straight to the statue after we came back judging by how far he had gotten in the picture. And he seemed to get even better as the days went on. Art was a huge part of Sasuke's life that I didn't even know of, that I _wanted _to know of.

"So uh…who made it?"

"Made it?"

"Yeah, the sculpture. Who err…sculpted it?" He glanced to me from the corner of his eye before mentally deeming something I couldn't figure out.

"You don't even like art."

"Well yeah…but it's different now!" He finally dropped his sketch to his side, turning his full attention toward me. I couldn't help but mentally dance at how I manage to catch him interest.

"Why?"

"Because I want to know more about it now. About the people and the sculptures and crap like that." I guess I really shouldn't have used that particular word to describe what we were looking at. It seemed to prove to Sasuke how little I really cared.

"Forget it dobe."

"No, I want to learn, really! It's something that you like, right?" I didn't really know why I wanted to learn more about art. I had said before that I was really more of a movie person. And given the choice, I'd probably still pick the movie theatre over a museum 99% of the time. But I wanted to try and learn how to see it like Sasuke did. So I shoved my hands into my sweatshirt pockets and glanced down at my feet to kick at the imaginary rocks in front of me. "You like it so…so help me like it too! Teach me why you like it so much, that way you don't have to go off on your own to draw all the time. If you're not going to try and make it big with art, then at least let me see it. I don't mind telling you that it sucks teme."

"Hn." I heard him shuffling a bit next to me, probably to close his notebook before calling me a name and leaving. "Giambologna."

"Uh…did you just call me some type of Italian bologna?" I looked up just in time to catch his eye-roll as he started to finish the sketch he was making. So he wasn't planning on leaving me.

"That's the sculptor's name, dobe." Ah, but he still managed the insult. Somehow it didn't bother me as much as normal. Instead I listened quietly (or as quietly as I could, since it is me we're talking about) while Sasuke continued to talk about the sculpture. He told me about the angles and different ways to look at it. Then he went into an explanation of how it wasn't even meant to be a real piece of art so much as an example for certain parts of art. Apparently it was made from one piece of marble, and it wasn't as scary as it sounded. In fact, the women chose to stay with the Romans that captured them in the end. I guess this Giam-guy wasn't the only one who portrayed the event. Others did the 'intervening' of the women during the war between the Romans and Sabine warriors. Most other representations, however, were paintings and not sculptures. That's why this one stood out so much. Well that and something about it leading to the '_Baroque'_, an art period that Sasuke said was 'too complicated for a dobe like you'. I planned to Google it when we got home to prove I could understand anything he threw at me.

Of course, all of this took time to explain. And then more time to re-explain it when something didn't make sense. And so it was no surprise that Kiba came storming over to us forty minutes later, hollering at us to get moving. Even though Kiba was right, I still had to fight him about it. So when Hinata came in-between us to keep us from continuing, I was mildly reminded of the Sabine women we were just talking about.

"So what's this square got that's so important anyways?" I asked, stretching my arms over my head. The day was easily starting to slink into night, and all the lights in the city were starting to flicker on.

"Stop being so impatient, you'll see it when we get there. In fact, you'll probably like it just as much as Hinata." Kiba's comment interested me. Well then I knew it wasn't going to be something boring. Sasuke probably wouldn't like it, but he could suck it up. After all, wasn't this an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? I couldn't waste it worrying over what a stoic bastard like Sasuke considered 'fun', especially when my eyes fell on what stood in the square.

"No way! They have a carousel here, too?!" I stared at the lit machine in front of me, watching it slowly turn in the quiet area. The only noise around was the corny circus music playing from the carousel that seemed basically deserted. Why weren't there people lined up for this? I looked over to Hinata and grinned. "Let's go ride it!"

"O-Okay!" Even Hinata seemed excited enough to push past her shyness while we moved quickly toward the guy running the carousel. Fishing through our pockets for the money, I glanced over my shoulder to see that Sasuke had stopped a few feet away.

"Teme, stop being a stiff and come on!"

"No." I glared at him before rolling my eyes, handing over my money to the guy. Fine, let Sasuke be all 'adult' about it. Hopping up onto the platform, I picked one of the white horses with a red and blue feather sticking out of its head. I was a bit surprised when it suddenly started to move, but I soon got over it and laughed when Kiba seemed to almost fall from his horse. The ride was fun, which you really wouldn't expect from something that just spins around. For the first time I saw Hinata giggle and smile without nervousness. Halfway through the ride Kiba grabbed her hand, and the two shared a quiet moment that I was smart enough to not interrupt. See, Uzumaki Naruto has some brains.

We decided to go on again, since it was probably the only time we'd be able to do it in our lives. I tried to convince Sasuke to come on, but he didn't seem to budge for any of my insults. I was tempted to drag him onto a horse and pay for him, but I soon decided he wasn't worth my time. So once again I rode alone, making stupid faces at Sasuke every time we'd spin around. He'd only roll his eyes while he watched us, but didn't move from his spot until we had our fun and came back to him. He stayed mostly quiet while we walked through the town, trying to find some new places to explore. But when the alarm went off on Sasuke's phone, we quickly turned to head back.

Or…we tried to.

"Hey, uh…which way did we come from?" I glanced at the crossroad, which gave us three options to use. We had been down so many roads; I couldn't remember which one went where. I took a step toward the one that was in front of us before hesitating and stepping back again. Damnit, why couldn't I remember?

"Shit, don't tell me we're lost," Kiba said. I shook my head to try and ignore the undeniable truth.

"No way! We…we came from the left." And I walked down the street I chose with as much confidence that I could muster. The others didn't argue as we walked, searching for anything that seemed to be familiar. But after five minutes of weaving through people and streets with unreadable names, I felt even more confused than before. And apparently, it was starting to get to Kiba.

"We're getting nowhere! And now we're like, ten minutes late for our check in time. Iruka's going to kill us!" Just thinking about Iruka's yelling made me quickly shake my head.

"No he won't! We'll…I'll…oh!" I snapped my fingers and looked back at the group, grinning. "I'll run ahead and go tell them that we're all coming! That way we won't get in trouble for being late! I'll explain how we got lost, and Iruka will be fine."

"Wa-wait Naruto-kun…" Hinata moved to grab something from her bag, but I didn't have time to waste. So quickly I gave a wave before darting down the street we were on. I didn't mind shifting through the people as I continued to look around for something that would direct me back to where we were supposed to be. Oh! I remembered that sign! Taking off down another street, I slowly started to get confused when the noise of the city died off instead of increased. Just…where was I heading? I finally stopped in some side street to catch my breath as I glanced around. Nothing was in English, which meant it was complete jibberish to me. Taking a deep breath, I moved to run again before a hand grasped onto my wrist. I jumped and turned to punch the person square in the face, but he easily caught my fist with his hand.

"Dobe." I sighed when I realized it was Sasuke. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean doing? I'm trying to find Iruka!"

"Without a map?" I opened my mouth to defend myself, but easily realized how dumb I'd sound in saying 'yes without a map teme!' "We need to get back to Kiba and Hinata. She's got a map we can use to trace back our steps."

"Fine, sorry for trying to help," I muttered, throwing his hand off my fist before walking toward the end of the street. "So which way did you come from anyways?"

"I was following you; I wasn't exactly keeping my eyes on my surroundings as well. I figured the one running like a madman would be."

"Eh…"

"I forgot said madman was an idiot."

"Hey!" I glared at him as he took in our surroundings, but I felt a slight string of panic start to grow inside of my stomach when he didn't insult me again. Sasuke was trying to find a way out of this. Trying, and seeming to fail when his whole body tensed up. It was only then I realized that sometime during my run it had started to sprinkle. I guess Iruka was right about the weather. Iruka…was he worried about us yet? And what would he do when Hinata and Kiba came back? Suddenly, I was slammed with the reality of the situation.

Me and Sasuke were lost. And even the teme couldn't figure out what to do next.

**And that's where I'm ending it! Why? Because I'm late and I need to still get this edited! So now the boys have done it. They're stuck in Florence without a map. Let the chaos commence! Haha I hope that you liked it, and review for the next chapter! **

**Chapter Seven: ****Forever In Florence (the real deal)**


	7. Forever in Florence

Alright…so you aren't happy with me…especially those who are reading Therapy too…haha…-hides- alright alright I'm sorry! But I told you all I ran out of time! So let's hurry with the reviews and then we can get to the story! Thanks to **narutoisuke **for the first comment! Haha only SasuNaru fans would see the boys being in a dangerous situation as a good thing. Now for you other people! **NeitherAngelNorDevil **(haha you reviewed a lot! I was like 'wow, I'm happy people actually like the story!' thanks so much)** DreamEvil **(oh if you thought that was bad, you're going to like this chapter)**, XSasuxNaruxForeverX **(The one time that you don't demand lemon stuff, I give you lemony stuff…-sighs- you are so funny)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqeak **(alright alright, I'll give you some smut! Calm down haha)**, Searafina **(haha being lost is never a good thing! Of course, Naruto can't just get lost in the US, noooo, has to get lost in another country)**, zerofangirl **(haha yea well Naruto was never one for thinking before he spoke. But many many things will happen in Florence! I promise you that)**, Drachenzahn **(thanks, I try to keep it uplifting even if the situation is really bad…or add romance, that always makes things better)**, Chiaki Megumi **(haha it's okay, I feel bad when I don't update on time! But I am trying to keep up with the schedual, it was just a lot easier to do when it was all humor!)**, Akuri chan **(haha I felt the same way! I was like 'hmm….projects…or next chapter….next chapter!')**, Roxxihearts **(yup, I'm pretty sure we all connected out palms to our foreheads at one point or another in Naruto's idiocy) **, -Nightly Halo- **(gay it up? Haha well that's a new way to put it!)**, mockup **(haha Sasuke's just drawing tons of little chibi naruto's! don't we wish…sighs)**, norway22 **(haha fine, I'll dedicate the club part to you! And yea, what better place to admit your gay than in front of two gay guys making out)**, Lydia-chan **(haha yea, poor Sasuke always get dragged along into stupid situation with Naruto…best example? The Haku fight)**, The Desiree Incident **(haha I find it funny that you say that…alone time….you'll see why at the end of the chapter) **, Itooshii Koneko **(haha thanks for the long review! And Sasuchan wanted me to tell you thanks too for the shout-out!)** , Mirdori Apple **(haha yes, we all want to feel bad for them, but really if we did nobody would read this story! –grins-)**, miskie27 **(haha well I hope I didn't make you wait long! And I promise this chapter will make up for all of the teasing)**, Deathangelebz **(you're so lucky! I get lost way too much in my own town, nevermind in other countries…-sighs-)**, blue-nuriel **(nah Sai aint in this story I don't think, but he will be in two of my one-shots after this!)**, Aiwin **(haha yeah, reviewing can get messed up at times! I'm happy that you liked that line, it was probably one of my favs that I've written for this story!)**, RasaLynnlynx **(I'm glad that your interested in the pieces, because really the art and cities of Italy are amazing!)**, impaled **(thanks for the good luck wish, I hope that I pulled off the chapter!)**, Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(haha thanks! I'm happy that some of the manga references are able to be seen!)**, Nana-Riiko **(there is so much about Italy, it's hard to choose what parts I want to focus on! But I try to do the most interesting, to me at least)**, XxFirexDance **(LMAO! Poor Lee, Sasuke would not be happy when he found out about people spying on him and Naruto!)**, Mcrind **(thank you very much for the sweet review! I actually get very nervous when new people send me reviews because I don't want to disappoint, but I'm happy you enjoyed it!)**, Mistress-Tsukiko **(well duh, who else would save our blonde haired fuzzball?)**, kat10788 **(haha and now you don't have to wait! Of course I didn't expect it to happen, but eh…when in rome..err…florence)**, Mega Ultra Chicken **(well I'm happy that my stuff stands out to you! –grins- I try to make it original, but knowing it's a little different is good enough for me)**, asdf **(-blushes- thanks for the sweet review! I uh…don't know what to say other than thanks and I'm happy that I made you smile!)**, hollowsmile **(eh, maybe he did know and maybe he didn't….-smirks- but you know, no matter what you guess he'd never tell you)**, Kimi333 **(don't worry about originality! I just wanna know how you feel, even if it's 'I hate this!' haha! And I'm happy you enjoyed the flag) **,CoffeeNeurotic **(oh wow! Well I'm happy you're looking into it because really, Italians knew how to make masterpieces! Not that I'm biased since I'm part Italian or anything…)**, jenniebennie **(haha you all have such dirty minds! –looks at what I wrote- err…okay, I do too…)**, a rather slytherin griffindor **(keep your pants on! We've already got two boys with em off, we don't need any more on the ground! haha)**, MasochistandSadist **(sorry I can't really help you Sadist, since Sasuchan thinks I'm an idiot too…guess I'm like Naru/Masochist…BUT I am happy that I'm catching both of your interests and I'm hoping you'll…_enjoy _this chapter –grins-)**, sakurananachan **(gah don't review at work! I don't wanna get you in trouble! –sighs- between people skipping school and writing reviews at work, the president is going to tell me to stop writing to keep America going)**, Ai Enmaxjigoku shoujo **(Yea, both of those things suck…I would know –sighs- but don't worry, they'll get their kiss! Plus interest!)**, Gold Chocolate Cake **(haha thanks for the compliments! I try to do my best in keeping them IC, and I'm glad that you are enjoying the story!)**, redfoxmoon **(blah, people and their drinking. It's really overrated I think, why bother getting drunk when you can't remember everything? I stay away from it all!)**, kunf'you'z-ed **(I hope that this was fast enough for you! =) have fun!)**, Chiru-lili **(FINE! Haha you can have some smut! Just to make sure your family doesn't kill you)**, Lilbakasaru **(it's the only thing that Sasuke cant out-glare, since it doesn't have any eyes…haha!)**, Disgruntled Minion **(omg that must have been scary! I would have like, died. And yeah, now that I re-read it I wanna go on the carousel again!)**, Rogen-chan **(the flag seems to be a favorite to everyone! I was actually scared to put it in at first, but I figured I'd be daring…and it paid off!)**, waterlogged22 **(aw thanks so much! I love when people like my story, otherwise I probably would have stopped with my first one!)**, Kazanrai **(don't worry about it! As long as you're not dead then I'm fine with a review every few chapters! No sweat)**, **and **Pebbles of the Sand **(I told you that this one was going to be the lighter of the two stories…although there is a bit of dark in this chapter…eh, it's smoothed over with smut)

Again thanks to my beta **Sasuchan**, who did this even when she was sick…and still it looks a hell of a lot better!

**Warning: ****-Waves white flag- alright alright, you all win….watch out for boyxboy smut in this chapter….-gets glomped by fangirls- ACK!!**

**Disclaimer: ****Although some may think I should own them, I don't….but I wanna SOOOO bad!**

**Forever in Florence**

"We're lost."

"I can see that, dobe."

"No, I mean…we're really lost this time." I watched him glared back at me from over his shoulder before he turned back to mumble about my lack of intelligence. I sighed slowly, glancing at the buildings that looked exactly like every other wet building we had passed by. Rain was now starting to come down heavier, and the night was just making it twice as hard to see. I turned my head to a sign and instantly scowled. "Haven't we passed that sign before?"

"You say that about every sign." I ignored his rude comment to run over to the sign, tilting my head slowly. The bright neon plus symbol glowed green, making my eyes squint a bit to adjust. I never realized how dark these alleyways were until I had something to compare them to.

"Really teme, we've been here before. I've seen this cross!" I looked back to watch him slowly stop walking. When he didn't answer, I continued to explain my déjà vu. "I think we've been going in circles."

"We'd know if we had a map." I bristled at the comment before throwing my pointed finger in his direction.

"You didn't have to come find me! You could have just stayed with Hinata and Kiba!" He glared back at me before turning around, starting to walk down the Florence street. I yanked my phone out of my pocket as I hurried after him, checking to see that we were now thirty minutes late for check-in. Unlike Sasuke's phone, I didn't need service to check the time. Not that it really mattered anyway, since my battery was flashing to show it needed recharging. I guessed that I had another ten minutes of energy before the entire phone would shut off on me. "Teme, what kind of battery do you have?"

"Why?"

"Because mine's almost dead and your phone is useless right now." I heard him scoff and watched while he shoved his hands into his jeans. Typical bastard.

"They're different brands."

"So?"

"So that means my battery won't work for your phone, idiot."

"I'm just trying to help the situation you know! It's not my fault that your stupid phone can't even tell time without a damn signal," I snapped back, following the sharp right he took. Were we even looking for a sign to get home now? Because he seemed to be fine with sulking and walking around the huge city. Remembering what the map looked like, I mentally sighed. Florence was mainly made up of square blocks, so it was very possible that we were just walking the same couple of blocks without even realizing it. Then again I had no clue what the green sign was for, or how many of them were in the city. Even with the map it would have been hard to figure out where we were, since some of the places were marked as one square instead of separate streets. And with the temperature starting to drop from the increase of rain, I had to hug myself to keep from freezing, or freaking.

"Stop thinking about it." I looked up slowly to see Sasuke standing at the end of the street, glancing between the three options we had. I stepped next to him, and provided absolutely no help in guessing.

"Do you think we'll get in trouble when we get back?"

"Of course we will, don't be stupid." I paused and glanced down at the road, watching as the mud started to cover the cuffs of my jeans.

"I bet Iruka will be more pissed at me than you. He'll just say you were being responsible in making sure I wasn't alone in the city. Stupid bastard, always having to be perfect," I muttered, not showing how much I'd give to have Iruka yelling at me.

"Hn. We're going straight." I huffed at the dictator in front of me, glaring at his back while trying to shake the rain from my hair. Really, out of all of the days to rain, it had to be the one time that we got lost. Alright, when I got lost. My feet dragged along the street while we moved, reminding me with every step how much walking I had done. Seriously, my work-out was way past complete. If I didn't die from the rain or the lack of food, I was just going to keel over from exhaustion. Okay, so we did just eat a couple hours ago, but hours seem like days when you're lost!

"Do you think Hinata and Kiba are alright?"

"They had a map."

"Oh yeah, you're right." He blinked and glanced over at me, and I returned the gaze with a glare. "What the hell are you looking at teme?"

"You just admitted I was right." We both stopped in our walking to stare at each other. I wasn't sure that the statement would have resonated with anyone else but us. I quickly realized my own mistake and tried to think of something to cover it up with. Man, how did I not catch that? I was losing my mind.

"Shut up teme, even Kakashi isn't a pervert at times. Doesn't mean anything." I could practically feel him smirk and I decided I'd rather walk in front of him than see it anymore. So shoving past the cocky guy, I picked the next street we walked on. Who cares where I was walking. I just needed to get away from him. So the next few minutes were travelled in silence, me silently fuming while Sasuke did something I didn't give a damn about. And honestly, I was planning on staying silent the entire rest of the walk, except something caught my eye. Seeing the bright lights that seemed to be driving our way, I felt my heart beat quicker. Blue lights filled my eyesight while I stopped walking and watched the Italian police come closer until one thought filled my head. Were they looking for us?

That was not good. I didn't want to be brought back by the police! That would be as embarrassing as the night with the stupid fish! Kiba would never let me live it down, and I'd always be known as the kid that needed escorts to walk him around. Oh hell no, I wasn't having that happen. So maybe a tiny part of my insanity started to show when I shoved Sasuke onto another street and against a wet brick wall. I saw his glare of both anger and confusion, but I didn't bother to speak until I heard the wailing of the sirens slowly disappear into the night.

"Thank the gods," I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that, dobe?" I looked up at Sasuke again, throwing my arm behind me to point in the direction the police had gone.

"The police were coming! What if they picked us up?!"

"You are an idiot."

"I am not! Do you want to be the laughing stock of the rest of the trip because we got brought back in a cop car?!"

"It's better than never getting back, idiot." He crossed his arms over his chest, as if the thought of never finding the group was nothing big. "Besides, I doubt the police would have sirens on in order to try and find two lost American teenagers."

"It…it could happen. You know how Iruka gets when he doesn't know where people are!" I only said it because I didn't want to admit that the idea of the Italian police speeding around the town for us sounded stupid. Iruka wouldn't have been able to get the cops this fast anyways. Yeah, we had been gone for almost an hour now, but that didn't mean he was going to call all troops to try and come find us. Or if he did, I'm sure that pervert would make him wait for a few hours.

"Start using your brain, if you even have one." I felt warmth around my wrist, and a scowling Sasuke pulled me away from the hiding spot and back onto the road we had been walking. I lifted my head and realized how wet Sasuke's back was. Not that it really mattered, since we looked like drenched rats from the constant natural shower over our heads. Still, the wet marks on his back reminded me of how stupid I was being. Sasuke was right, I acted more like a kid than a teenager. Here he was, having to practically drag me through the city while trying to make a mental trial-and-error map of the city. And what was I doing? Making a scene and freaking out over things that made absolutely no sense. I glared to the side, watching the droplets of rain crash on the waiting tar. I kind of wished I could melt into the road too.

I was just nervous. Sure I did some stupid things in my life, but never before had I actually put myself in an extremely dangerous situation. Some scrapes or bruises I could handle. But being left in Italy? I wasn't so sure that Uzumaki Naruto was ready for that. It was one thing to be in a foreign city with a travel guide and a translator. It was another to only have your own intelligence and the ability to ask where the bathroom is. After a while, that just wouldn't cut it for me. I started to think of how me and Sasuke would get food or a place to stay if we didn't find the group. I knew Sasuke knew more Italian than I did, but that didn't mean he could have full blown conversations. Plus, did we even have enough money to rent a room? To get food and water for ourselves?

And what about the others? We were supposed to be leaving Florence tomorrow to go to our last hotel. What would they do if they hadn't located us? They couldn't leave…could they? Well, what other option did they have? It wasn't like the hotel could keep the group for another day! They'd have no choice but to go. They'd have to leave us behind.

I gripped onto Sasuke's hand to try and keep the thought from bothering me.

"What is it?" He turned his head back to me, and I shook mine to try and destroy my fears. He shot a quiet glance over my shoulder, but I passed it up as trying to memorize our surroundings.

"Nothing! I'm fine teme."

"Obviously not, dobe. You're shaking like a girl." I growled up at him, but he only kept my gaze for a second before glancing over my shoulder again.

"I'm not a girl!"

"Clean your ears, I said _like _a girl."

"I don't act like one either. We already talked about who's the more girly one!" And if he was going to insult me, the least he could do was look me in the eye while he did it. I mean really, the only time he continued to switch his gaze was when he was sketching. Otherwise his stare was almost impossible to shake. But when he used our linked hands to pull me closer, I knew the situation had made him finally snap. Still, my cheeks started to burn at the close sensation of having his chest press against mine. If there was anyone around us, they may have thought we were a couple or something. So my voice shook a bit when I spoke again. "Teme what the fuck?!"

"Shut up." His voice had dipped so low I had to strain to hear it. Just what the hell was going on? I swallowed my need to yell at him for brushing his lips against my ear while he spoke. "When we start walking, don't say a word. Don't speak, don't disobey me, and don't look back."

"Huh?" He seemed to deem that an acceptable answer, because he was already pulling me into a brisk walking pace that had me stumbling to keep up. What the hell were with all of these rules anyways? Why couldn't I speak? I bet that one was for his own sick pleasure. And who said he was in charge anyways? Sure my head was a tiny bit fuzzy from the couple seconds of intimacy, but it'd pass! When I could get my heart back under control, I was going to tell Sasuke exactly what I thought about his idea of being dominant. And the last demand was just plain stupid. I could clearly see him angling his head to see behind us when he had just clearly stated I couldn't. Well screw him! So in defiance, I casually tilted my head to glance at the row of shady looking shops in order to take a glimpse behind us.

If Sasuke didn't have such a good grip on my hand, I probably would have stopped moving completely. As it was, my heart skipped a beat when I noticed a man I hadn't seen before quietly walking down the road at the same pace we were. He was dressed in a brown trench coat, with a matching hat and umbrella above him. I couldn't see most of his face by the way his coat overshadowed it, but I could immediately tell his eyes were trained on us. It sent an immediate chill down my spine. That was what Sasuke was looking at? I turned my head forward sharply to try and think of when I had noticed Sasuke's behavior change. It had been a two minute fight, and including our now silent speed walk, I'd say it tacked on another two minutes.

He'd been following us for four minutes? At least that. I leaned a bit closer to Sasuke, who seemed to meet me halfway to mumble near my ear.

"We're going to run on the count of three."

"Run?" I whispered, slightly alarmed at how serious Sasuke was taking this guy. "Maybe he just is heading this way. We don't actually know th—"

"He waited until we started to walk to move. He stopped when we did, and has been behind us since you decided to hide from the police." That had been at least fifteen minutes ago! Not to mention we had changed streets, and probably went down more back alleys than actual main roads. Any resident of Italy wouldn't have to use these pointless streets. Well, unless they were following us. I must have shivered or given some indication that the information was completely unsettling for me, because Sasuke narrowed his gaze and squeezed my hand again to gain my attention. "Don't let him get to you. Just be ready to run, got it?"

"Yeah." But I didn't sound ready. Well, that was because I _wasn't_.

"One…two…" I wanted to say that my stomach was flipping, and knots were now painfully tying up any courage I needed. But he didn't give me time. "Three."

And we ran. Our squeaky sneakers quickly were joined by a pair of men's shoes chasing our footsteps as if in a race. For that creep, it seemed like a hunt. My heart was pumping with adrenaline as I followed Sasuke and skidded into an alleyway, cursing when the guy took the sharp turn as well. I was already exhausted from the day and getting lost, and now this guy had us running like our lives depended on it. They probably did from the way this guy continued to chase us. My lungs burned while I gulped in the cold and rainy air, my thighs becoming numb from the natural elements and over-usage. The panic was only making it harder to move. This was how it ended. Being lost with Sasuke in a foreign country and getting chased down by some creepy man? This sure was a sucky way to go.

Sasuke managed to find another hidden alleyway, and right when I turned into it his arm grabbed my shirt and pulled me into a porch entrance of a closed shop. I opened my mouth automatically, but the teme slammed his hand over my lips and pulled my back hard into his chest. The arm that wrapped around my waist was to keep me from moving and making the wet wood from the porch creak. I was sure that my heartbeat was going to give away our spot when I heard the man run into the alleyway and straight past our hiding spot. I knew that after he passed it he wouldn't have been able to see us from the angle Sasuke had positioned us, but my fear was deep enough that my entire body was shaking.

I tried to ignore the overwhelming sensations of fear and anxiety as I heard the man's shoes slow in their pacing. Was he looking for us? We had been ahead of him enough to have ducked into another street before he got into the alleyway. I knew Sasuke was banking on the man assuming we had ran onto the next street. He wanted this stranger to continue chasing the path that most panicking teenagers would have taken. And since he didn't realize that Sasuke was the Uchiha Sasuke, he took the bait and started his crazy path down the next street. I slammed my eyes shut as I heard the quieting noises of his shoes, and didn't relax even when the soft pattering of the rain around us was the only noise besides our now released breathing. Even through his hand my panting was choppy and frantic enough to show how long I had held it back.

"He's gone." I opened my eyes to realize that Sasuke had somehow twisted me back to face him. I stared up at him, completely lost in what to say. His features were calm and collected, while I was falling apart. This had been the last straw. I was a strong guy, I knew I was. Under any other circumstances, I knew I would have just turned around and beat the shit out of that creep that had been following us. I would have stuck my tongue out at the police. I'd be laughing at the absurdity of the situation or punching Sasuke and yelling at him for trying to kill me through suffocation. But it wasn't a different situation. This was reality.

"We're lost. Our clothes….are soaked and our phones are useless. Both have _no_ service, and my battery—" My hands were shaking so bad, I barely was able to flip open the blank screen of my phone. "-is now gone. We d-don't have a map, translator, or…fuck, anyone other than each other! We have practically no money on us and no idea where the closest hotel is. And now, after… all of this, some random guy comes out of nowhere and tries to-"

"Dobe-"

"No. No no….I don't wanna hear your bullshit! We're fucking screwed Sasuke! We're lost and we're never going to get out of this messed up city! We'll be…be stuck here with these creepy people and I'll never get home and I'll be alone forever here!" I was yelling and completely allowing my panic to consume my mind. My erratic breathing was causing me to stop in places that pauses weren't meant to be to catch my breath. And in the back of my mind, I was still mentally wondering if somehow the crazy man from before would be able to hear my screaming and would come back to kill us. "I don't wanna be here! I don't…fuck I-…I don't wanna be alone here! I just want..I n—"

Sasuke kissed me. Probably to shut me up or to keep me from completely losing my mind in some dank alleyway in the middle of Florence. His lips were dry but soothing as they pressed themselves to mine in order to try and force some of his calmness into my panicked world. My fear soon turned into desperation. I needed to know someone was here with me. My arms threw themselves around his neck while he continued to cup my face, finally pressing the long-awaited tongue past my lips and into the cavern of my mouth. My fingers curled in the soaked locks of black that were now completely untamed and erotic. I didn't try to suppress the moan that leaked from my mouth. His tongue was driving through any emotional turmoil and slowly starting to suppress the panic. I was still too nervous to close my eyes, but enjoyed how curious his tongue felt swiping along the inside of my mouth.

One hand stayed on my cheek while the other grasped onto my hip and pulled me closer to him. Clothing that was once irritating became completely irrelevant to me when our chests pressed together. The heat of our bodies seemed to melt some of the panic in my stomach. His leg pressed between mine, and I felt myself being pushed backwards slowly. I tensed when I felt something behind me, immediately letting my mind jerk back to the crazed look in the man's eyes. But Sasuke didn't allow me to pull my head back, only skimming my motionless tongue while he let my spine recognize the surface as the wall to the store. I shivered while the leg between mine forced my stance wider, and let out a throaty moan when a jean clad thigh rubbed into my body. I finally allowed my body to creep back into relaxation by joining the mainly one-sided battle of our kiss. Our tongues shied away from each other for a few seconds before coming together in one heated moment of connection.

I'd never admit I was scared. But then again, I guess I didn't have to. By the very hesitant swipe of Sasuke's thumb along my cheek, I could tell he was trying to do something he thought was soothing. He knew I was scared. He knew that, because Sasuke knew me. The constant brushes of his thigh against my arousal reminded me of the sanity I was losing. I hissed into his mouth when one pleasurable rock of his leg made my eyesight turn fuzzy. Seeing that I was no longer losing my mind (in a bad way at least), Sasuke withdrew his assault on my inflamed lips to settle for pressing our foreheads together. He kept his gaze on me while I tried to catch my elusive breath.

I thought we'd fall into a silence. So when Sasuke willingly spoke, I guess I was truly surprised.

"You're not alone, dobe. I'm right here." Our eyes connected, and it was the first time that I'd ever seen Sasuke seem both uncomfortable and determined at the same moment.

"I'm not scared." I'm pretty sure I mirrored his face with my own.

"Hn." It showed he didn't believe a single word. I guess I wouldn't have either with my earlier freak out. "I should have known a social idiot like you would suffer from monophobia."

"What? Speak English teme." He rolled his eyes and pressed his forehead closer to mine as if the movement would punish me.

"The fear of being alone."

"They have an actual name for that?"

"They have a name for everything." He paused and then continued. "It's…common for humans to fear things. I'd expect no less from you. Either way, it's accepted, almost expected."

"How would you know? You're perfect." His lips pressed tighter together, as if trying to keep his lips silent. But his mouth seemed as untamable as mine.

"Atychiphobia." I blinked once to show that once again, I had no idea what his gibberish meant. "You idiot. It's the fear of failing."

"What's the got to do with anythi—"

But for once, I didn't need Sasuke to explain. The dormant light bulb in my head flashed on. I should have made the connection as soon as he looked away and lowered his voice during his explanation. Was Sasuke admitting he was…afraid of something? Well, he didn't exactly say it. But what else would he be talking about? I failed tests all the time, so I definitely didn't have that problem. And with all the pressure that was put on him from being an Uchiha, I guess it made sense. He couldn't be bad because he was a part of a famous family known for their skills and natural excellence in everything they did. I almost winced when I realized how half of the time, I was the one who continued to remind Sasuke of his expectations. I fanned the flames.

"That's why you won't consider making your art your career? Because of your expectations?"

"Any type of art is unable to predict. It's an unstable job, and most do not get respected until they have passed away. Did you know Vincent Van Gogh sold one painting while he was alive? One of the most renowned artists known and he was considered worthless."

"But…but art is different now! Besides I've seen your work, and you're really good! You attach that dumb last name to it, and it'll sell millions." He seemed just as uncomfortable with my praise as I felt giving it, but it had to be said. I didn't care if the blush ate my cheeks away, I wasn't going to let the teme just forget the one thing he seemed to enjoy because of what he _thought _would happen. "You could make it work teme. You're Uchiha Sasuke, remember?"

"The opinion of an idiot doesn't matter." I narrowed my eyes at the insult but didn't let it distract me.

"Then why do you let so many of them rule your life? Anyone who sits there and tells you that art won't sell is an even bigger dumbass than me! They didn't sell back then because people didn't have the agencies and contracts like we do now. And since when have you cared what other people think? I bet you nobody thought an entire female population could become a bunch of mindless zombies over one guy, and you somehow proved them wrong with that too!"

"What I choose to do with my life shouldn't concern you."

"But it does! I don't know why, but it just _does_. It's like why you care about me not being alone. You don't understand it, do you?" And when he tried to pull away from the intimacy of our bodies, I tightened my arms around his neck and shook my head. "Don't run away from this."

"Idiot."

"Maybe I am, but that's not going to make me let you go." Physically or metaphorically, I wasn't sure. Maybe both, since I didn't stop hugging him. Eventually I felt a weak hold on my waist, and I wasn't sure how to take that either. Did that mean he understood what I was saying? Or did he just feel too confused to really do anything else? Either way I enjoyed feeling someone hold me. Maybe I did have that 'monophobic' crap Sasuke was saying. I leaned my forehead on his shoulder, no longer caring about how bad the circumstances were. Somehow, I felt okay. Like maybe it wasn't so bad being here with Sasuke, knowing nobody would barge in or watch us.

"Let's get you back, moron." He mumbled the words along my temple, and I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I liked how it felt when Sasuke grabbed my hand, and I automatically laced our fingers. I tried to convince myself it was for security reasons (because you know, the crowds were _extremely _busy in the deserted alleyways), until feeling a very subtle squeeze made my cheeks brighten. Why did Sasuke have the effect on me? For all I knew, it was a simple hand spasm. But glancing up to watch Sasuke's features focus on the task at hand, I felt my heart still for a moment in my chest. Quickly, my eyes widened. Was I…possibly…but very unlikely…I was…maybe…not necessarily…

Shit. Did I love Sasuke? Was that even possible? I shook my head quickly while he led me back onto another road. No, it wasn't. We had just kind of started to test this new…_feeling _a couple of days ago! I mean, people didn't fall in love like that. It took time! You had to learn about the person, talk to them, find out their interests…and other crap that I was sure I hadn't done yet. Even though I had known Sasuke forever, and was quickly learning about his interest and hobbies, falling in love just wasn't possible.

If I kept telling myself that, maybe I could convince my heart as well.

"Well at least I know we've been here before." I hear Sasuke's voice breech my thoughts, and glanced up to see a sign that was certainly a blessing.

"The carousel!" I felt the first shadow on excitement enter my heart when I realized something very significant about the square we now stood in. "This was only like…five minutes from the other place!"

"Exactly."

"And I know how to get back there from here!" He glanced over to me, probably shocked that I was actually knowledgeable about something. I'd hit him later, after we got back with the group. "I was the one with the map at this time, remember? I know we came from the street on the right!"

"Hn." But now the adrenaline was coursing through both of us as we ran down the streets that I pointed at. For once, I was completely sure of the places that we were going by. I remembered laughing at Kiba and poking Hinata's blushing cheek on these streets. And the memories kept the directions fresh in my head. So when I finally caught a glimpse of the copy of whoever that statue was, I cried out loud enough to get several stares.

"I've never been so happy to see a naked guy before!" We were now about 90 minutes past the meeting time. I panted and felt almost completely drained. In fact, I was almost positive that I was going to collapse on the ground right there. The only thing that kept me up was the slight creeping of anxiety as I glanced around for the group. So when nobody was there to throw their arms around us or to ask us how we were, the panic started to come back. "Where…where are they teme?"

"The dinner reservations."

"Dinner…fuck, I don't remember what that place is called! I don't even know where it is." I wanted to go bang my head on one of the sculptures, but my hand was still linked to Sasuke's. I was contemplating dragging him with me, but then something amazing happened. Two figures moved out from under the archway, one walking towards us while the other simply leaned on the column they were hidden behind.

"What are you doing?!" Iruka's voice made my breath catch. I rubbed my eyes once, finally breaking the hand hold I had with Sasuke to make sure I wasn't dreaming. But when Iruka and Kakashi didn't disappear, I felt my feet instantly running toward the brunette. I didn't care that I was a seventeen year old senior of high school. All I knew was that hugging Iruka was enough to finally make my eyes blur with tears. I could barely hear his pointless scolding while he returned the warm gesture, but it was okay. I knew he'd probably yell at me again tomorrow. So I smiled dumbly while I tried to keep my tears from falling. I focused on watching Sasuke casually walk over to our perverted proctor. The older man simply smiled and rubbed Sasuke's head, all while Sasuke watched me. Feeling embarrassed about my uncontrollable emotions, I turned my head into Iruka's shoulder while the brunette continued to question me.

Dinner was quiet. I could tell that the others had wanted us to sit with them, but Iruka had ordered that we stay at his table with Kakashi to make sure we were okay. I didn't protest, mainly because I didn't have the strength to argue. How I was even able to keep walking I wasn't sure. Maybe I was at the point where the exhaustion was too much for me to pass out from. Kind of like when you stay up so long, you can't go to bed.

We probably looked like hell by the way the others' face scrunched in worry. Well, we'd been through something pretty close. I found out from Kakashi that Kiba and Hinata found the group about ten minutes after we left them. At least they made it back fine. I glanced to Sasuke to see him quietly eating the unknown soup we were given. Hell, it could have been filet stew and I wouldn't have noticed. Even though he looked just as shitty as I did, Sasuke kept his refined posture and ate like he had not just been chased through the streets of Italy. I actually watched Sasuke throughout most of the dinner.

"Naruto we were so worried about you two! Don't ever do something stupid like that again!" Sakura's concerned voice was followed by a warm hug. I tried to smile at the others when she finally released me. We followed the proctors on the walk back to the hotel, and I made sure to always keep Iruka in my gaze.

"I'm not planning on it, trust me. One time was enough."

"Make sure to take a good shower when you get back. And get lots of sleep! You look really worn out." Ino said, making me nod quietly. I could tell the lacking answers were less than comforting for the group, but I was really too tired to hold a conversation. I just was happy to move up the stairs of the hotel room and crash into our shower. If Sasuke wanted the first shower he didn't complain, just silently moved past me when I finally felt clean enough to come out. By the time I had crawled into bed, Shikamaru was sleeping. Damn, that bastard could sleep through anything. But, in a way I was grateful. I didn't feel like answering any more questions today. I just wanted to get to sleep.

So an hour later, when my eyes were still staring up at the ceiling, I was completely confused. Wasn't I dying to go to sleep? I mean, I could practically feel my muscles screaming at me for being awake. But for some reason, when I closed my eyes, nothing came to me. No dreams, no nightmares, not even the notion that I was starting to slip into sleep. I was ready to kill someone when a voice caused me to jump under my blankets.

"You're awake." It was a statement, not a question. I slowly turned my head to look over at Sasuke, who was now rolled to face me. Why the hell weren't we asleep?

"Yeah." I mumbled, closing my eyes halfway. He snorted, but it was quiet and lacked any type of sneer he probably wanted.

"Figured."

"Why are you awake?"

"Shouldn't you be asking yourself that?"

"Already did, teme." He stared at me for a few moments before shifting on the bed and sighing.

"You're using your brain too much, it's going into overload."

"Shut up." I buried my face in my pillow, annoyed that he still had enough energy to think of smart insults. I willed for something to make me sleep, but nothing changed. This was starting to get ridiculous. "We should be passed out."

"I know."

"So why aren't we?"

"I'm not a sleep doctor." Well I could see that. I rolled my eyes against the pillow before lifting my head to glare back at him.

"You're such a prick," I muttered, leaning up on my arms to stare at the pillow under me. I could faintly see from the corner of my eye that his lips curl to a smirk. We fell into a silence that I had expected earlier, back when we were lost. When I was losing my mind. I hated knowing that Sasuke was the only thing that kept me from completely falling apart. I had prided myself in being able to keep my cool, and yet there…I was weak. "I was such an idiot."

"I call you dobe for a reason."

"I let my fear take me over."

"I told you to drop it. It's normal."

"Well, maybe it's not normal to me!" I glared back at him, but blinked when he moved back on his bed. The space that now lay in front of him was almost as alluring as the darkness of his eyes. He said nothing at first, simply making me shiver from the intense gaze.

"Come here." It was the first command I didn't feel the need to argue with. I crawled quietly out of my bed and didn't meet his gaze when I shoved under his sheets. I buried into the blankets to keep the cool air out of my cocoon, my feet brushing his gently. At the movement I glared up to him and pulled the blanket high enough to hide my cheeks. For some reason he found amusement in my stare because he continued to smirk. "You look like an idiot."

"You look like an asshole," I bit back, tugging the blankets closer and pressing my forehead into his chest. Not that I wanted to! He was just facing the wrong way and I couldn't sleep on my other side. And the option of leaving my warm barrier was not acceptable.

"Hn." And we laid like that, for maybe a few minutes. If he cared about the contact he didn't say anything, letting me continue the reasoning of why I _had _to lay like that in my head. And I chanted it until I felt my heart practically roll its eyes and shout out 'shut up you know you're lying!' It made my eyes close tightly.

"I don't understand this." I finally gave up trying to resist the warm feeling I got when Sasuke's arm slid over my waist. If it was meant for comfort purposes, he had the most seductive unconscious movements I'd ever seen. Or felt, rather, from the shiver gliding through my spine.

"What?" I hesitated because I knew that somehow this was going to increase the shifting of our relationship. I had kissed him. I had admitted I was gay. It seemed that every step was becoming much harder to reach. And really, one slip up and like Kiba said, I'd get pretty hurt. But…when had that ever stopped me before?

"If we had been lost…just you and me…forever…" I licked my lips quietly to try and keep the moisture from disappearing. The motion caught his black gaze, and caused my voice to lower. "Would you hate me for…"

"For?" He pressed quietly, and the courage I needed came surging into my stomach.

"Would you hate me for enjoying it, teme?" And I didn't tear my eyes away in fear of missing something in his eyes. After all, the stoic bastard wasn't going to give anything away willingly. I watched his lips thin for a moment, almost giving the look of annoyance. Like somehow, my question bothered him. And maybe in a way, like my feelings bothered my pride, it did. That maybe, a part of him wasn't accepting the idea of something other than rivalry stirring between us.

But a part of him wanted me.

"Dobe." I let my eyes close this time, enjoying the quiet connection of our lips. I later smacked myself for letting him slide over me without so much as a protest, but my head wasn't exactly in the thinking mood. Instead, a silent swipe along my lips asked for something he'd never verbally say, just like I'd never admit to enjoying parting my lips for him. My back rested fully against the bed when he broke through my cover barrier, replacing the warmth with an exquisite heat. I panted into his mouth when I grabbed the back of his head, tilting it so I could fasten my lips onto his before diving my tongue into his mouth. The idea of Shikamaru being only a few feet away passed my mind, but I quickly ignored it when pale fingers grasped onto the bottom of my sleep shirt. That kid slept like a log anyways.

He forced his mouth away from mine for a moment, and I cursed right after the whimper I released. The glare I received made it seem like I _wanted _to let out embarrassing noises or something. I would have started to argue until I realized the breaking of our kiss was only acceptable to him when clothes were being subtracted. I flushed in the darkness when I felt my stomach and chest become acquainted with the coldness of the room, sending a tingling sensation through the exposed flesh. I would have crossed my arms if I didn't think it'd be practically screaming 'girl'. And my stubbornness paid off when I watched Sasuke's gaze linger a second longer than a passing glance. The teme was checking me out! I grinned in both cockiness and embarrassment. He shot me a look a moment before he lowered back onto my body, making me hiss into his mouth when the warmth of his bare stomach pressed against mine. Deciding that no, I wasn't paralyzed; I skimmed my fingers over his side while encouraging the shirt to lift up under his armpits. He seemed less willing to give up our kiss for his own undressing, but a harsh bite on his lip made him pull away enough to accomplish my goal.

I glanced along his skin quietly, wondering how the hell he could be so pale. After everything we'd done outside, he still resembled a piece of paper. Not that it really mattered, since it somehow worked for him. Thinking of Sasuke tan just didn't seem to fit his cold personality. So instead, I reached up to test if the skin was as icy as its owner. What I found was that Sasuke could make a profession out of being a heated blanket, because every part of his body now seemed ten times warmer than I'd ever realized before. He was silent through my exploration, resting over my hips and sitting completely straight. His eyes watched the hesitating gliding of my fingers along his glowing skin without squirming or making noises. Still, even he couldn't stop the shivers that wracked his body. I grinned at my own work and gently skimmed his nipple with my thumb, and it seemed that passive Sasuke got the hell beaten out of him by assertive Sasuke.

I had to bit my lip when a pain stung the back of my hand, forcing me to pull it back. It gave the bastard time to push back over me and position himself in a way he considered better. I say he, because I was quite comfortable having him in my lap. But I guess I couldn't complain when smooth hands pulled my waist forward to meet the central core of his heat. My eyes widened and I arched at the strange sensation. Not knowing exactly how far this was going, I wanted to ask. But really, who speaks when an Uchiha has their mind set on something? I found my hands grasping onto the sheets when his hips rolled into mine. Was there supposed to be that much heat between us? My teeth instantly met my bottom lip when he repeated the action, forcing a sharp breath through my nose. His fingers curled around the bottoms of my thighs, dragging out a quiet moan from my chest when he switched our angle.

"Don't get loud." I tried to glare at him, but the lust clouding my mind and his breathing against my ear was making it way too hard to even open my eyes. It took me a few moments of trying to get my mouth to cooperate before I could speak.

"Fuck yo—" I couldn't even make it through my second word before a wave of pleasure froze my throat. My hand flew up to grab his shoulder, using it as leverage before striking back with my own pelvic roll. He seemed caught off guard by the action, and I almost laughed at the slight curse he released under his breath. The warmth surrounded my ear, spiking the pleasure throughout my body. Enjoying the rush of adrenaline it gave me, I found myself starting a slow rocking motion along his hips, enjoying the quiet breathing that hitched on occasion. His hands were grasping my hips, encouraging them to follow the grinding motion of his own. I winced before leaning my head against his, my noises ranging in volume and length. He'd squeeze my waist in a silent warning when something felt too good to hold back on. I flushed as I looked over to our sleeping roommate, but closed my eyes when a sucking against my collarbone made my hips thrash in his hands. Silently my mouth parted in a wordless cry while I felt the warmth twist and build in the pit of my stomach. It was all rushing through me so fast. My heartbeat accelerated with my desperate attempts to grind harder into his hips, the pressure of my sleep pants becoming unbearable.

Apparently the teme could read minds, because I felt his grip slide down to drag the elastic of my pants and boxers away. A swelling of panic filled my stomach, and I could feel my muscles instantly tense. This was completely new. Yeah, I had kissed girls before. And really dry humping was a little weirder with a guy, but still fine since I'd done it before. But getting naked with someone was a completely different story! It wasn't like we were just showering after a game or something. I glanced down between our bodies, staring at the skin that stood out against my hips. I could see the line of my happy-trail now, leading to the one part of me that was throbbing in unfulfilled desire. But I gripped his hands with mine and looked up at him to try and give him the best glare I could.

"Teme!" I hissed out quietly, squeezing his hands for emphasis. "What are you…you doing?"

"Don't you ever shut up?" He asked bluntly, keeping his voice low to either keep Shikamaru asleep or to hide the breathiness his voice would probably hold.

"Not when you're trying to get me naked," I replied, sharing a glare between him. I shifted, and we both had to bite back groans when the delicious friction we once had sparked again. Fuck that felt good. I leaned my head back to try and keep my mind clear, but it instantly fogged over when I felt his lips ghosting the skin on my neck. I could practically feel my eyes rolling back while my hips jerked forwards into his grasp.

"Self-conscious, dobe?" His question vibrated along the hollow of my neck, and I closed my eyes tightly to keep focused. Which seemed pointless considering our hips were already starting to rock together again. The teasing sucking just under my ear had me rethinking my reasoning for not being naked. And with the quick, shallow thrusts between our bodies, I was pretty sure we were both heading toward the end. Still, the stubborn side of me shook my head, needing to answer Sasuke's challenging question.

"Ne-never teme." And to prove my confidence, I tugged his hands back to their previous course before trying to one up the bastard. Hearing the soft groan next to my ear, the humiliation of feeling solid velvet pulsing in my grasp was worth it. I'd never touched another guy before, so I figured everything felt the same. But really, I should have known Sasuke's skin wouldn't be as rough as mine. His head had dropped to my shoulder, fists curling into the material of my pants that now cradled my thighs. Hips that he tried so hard to keep under control now quivered when my fingers hesitantly slid down his rosy arousal.

It seemed to finally snap the Uchiha out of his pleasure long enough to slip his hand over my thigh and grasp onto my member. Knowing my mouth would be the cause of problems, I quickly used my free hand to grab his neck, a silent gesture he seemed to understand. His lips took mine into a heated kiss when the first muffled moan escaped me. Talented fingers played across the expanse of my tormented skin, bringing my desire to new heights. His fingertip brushed the vein underneath the head of my cock, sending my hips into frantic thrusts. The back of my eyelids were starting to line with white, signaling the start of my orgasm. Muscles tensed up as I panted weakly into his mouth, seeking his tongue with my own. His unoccupied hand was grasping my cheek, keeping our lips tight against each other when the white pleasure filled my mind. My back arched while I cried his name into our kiss, my body untamable while I rode through my orgasm. It was only after I felt the sticky white substance shoot against my palm that I realized Sasuke had finished a few seconds after me. His mumble was incoherent, but I could almost feel my name through the movement of his lips while his cock pulsed. The thought only made my relaxing hips flinch in pleasure.

It was going to be a complete pain to clean up. I lazily slid my gaze to watch the dripping of white glimmer softly in the natural light streaking through the glass doors of the balcony. My cheeks were flushed but I didn't feel strong enough to even stand now. So how Sasuke mustered the energy to go to the bathroom and return back to the blankets was impossible for my powering down brain to process. By then, my eyes were closed and the darkness that should have come to me before was easily making an appearance. I felt something wet wiping along my fingers before moving to my naked body. I tried to hit the cold cloth from my sensitive thighs, but the weak snort I got forced my gaze to reopen.

"Move your legs up." I mumbled something that sounded like a protest while I did exactly as he told me, feeling the soft fabric of my boxers and sleep pants return to me. Once the two garments were secure, I felt the bed shifting next to me and lolled my head to watch Sasuke redress himself. I frowned at the lost sight of his pale ass when the clothes were dragged up his thighs. I really hadn't pushed them too far before going on to my task.

"Mmm…f'kin cold, bastard." At the time, I didn't think I sounded like a five year old with a potty mouth. Of course later would be another story. Either way, I got my wish when I felt my eternal heat source slip back under the covers with me. I curled into his body, resting on our shared pillow while I languidly allowed my eyes to close. Everything I needed to think about could wait for tomorrow.

Right now, I just wanted to sleep forever in Florence…with Sasuke.

**And that's the end of this part! So now with two days left of the trip, what will the boys do? And is Naruto really in love with Sasuke? Well we all know he does, but will he admit it? Guess you'll have to review and find out, huh? Oh! And if you haven't already, go check out the pole in my profile! =) Thanks!**

**Chapter Eight:**** Love in Verona? Oh Please…**


	8. Love in Verona? Oh Please

Hello everyone! It's been…-checks calander- ten days…eep! Alright, so this is all my fault. –sighs- I don't really want to get into why, because I've already gotten scolded by Sasuchan for it. BUT now the chapter is up so it's all good! Thank you time. First, gotta thank **narutoisuke **for my first review! And don't get your hopes up yet! Now for the others. **ShukakuKyuubi **(aw don't cry! It'll be all happy in the end! Well…as happy as Sasuke can be)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqeak **(well as long as you are satisfied! Haha and now you'll just have to wait for another time when they're sexual)**, blue-nuriel **(Shikamaru? Pretending? Aw never, when has he ever done that….-cough cough- during the exams –cough cough-)**, norway22 **(did you go on a trip or something? Or did you just randomly drive to different cities?)**, Lydia-chan **(Orochimaru is pretty damn creepy. I'd be more scared if it was him chasing me around than some random person)**, miskie27 **(haha! I never thought of Shikamaru and Neji together! They'd just be way too smart for all of us to handle!)**, jenniebennie **(only Shikamaru would want a room change…all of us would be drooling happily)**, Wopsidaisy **(haha I'm happy that you felt like me about the last scene. And practically everyone else that's read this story! Haha)**, Lilbakasaru **(Everyone seems to think that Shikamaru was awake during the sex scene! Now would I be that mean…? –grins-)**, MasochistandSadist **(haha I didn't mean to shock you like that Masochist! But I am happy that you both enjoyed the chapter, even if it was a little bit too mushy for you Sadist. –Grins- cant help it sometimes)**, Searafina **(I don't like to write a lime or lemon unless there is a reason behind it. That's probably why my one-shots always turn into three or more chapters. So yeah, the plot has to be there! Haha)**, waterlogged27 **(thanks for the sweet review! I try to add a little bit of everything into my lime/lemon scenes, so I'm happy that go through to you)**, Purpledemon22 **(…you really enjoyed this chapter, didn't you?) **, redfoxmoon **(most people have wondered about Shikamaru…I promise it will be answered in this chapter!)**, Chiru-lili **(haha well thanks for the adoration, but I'm pretty sure Sasuchan would be upset if you kept saying that! My beta is kind of uh…possessive, not that I mind it)**, Akuri-chan **(everyone feels bad for Shika, and yet EVERYONE wants to trade spots with him! I bet if he knew how much money he could had made from his front row seat, he could have sold it and lived lazily for the rest of his life)**, mockup **(haha a gay pride sign…that's pretty funny! And poor Shika, it's not like he wanted to hear it!)**, honey **(don't worry about the caps, I suck at grammar so I didn't even notice! And I'm happy that you're enjoying this story so much. I wrote it for Italy because of personal reasons, but I'll explain at the end of the story)**, moontide **(jeeze you all seem more obsessed with the guy than he was with Naruto and Sasuke! No he was a random dude, and it'll be explained at the end of the story)**, Gold Chocolate Cake **(I can't get enough of SasuNaru period. Although I will be sneaking in some NaruSasu stories after I finish Therapy and this)**, -Nightly Halo- **(yeah, I saw that I spelt that wrong afterward but I was just too lazy to go and upload the document again –scratches head- and I cant answer that question!)**, fabulosfan **(aw thank you, but I'm not the best! I've read some really good ones, I'm just hoping I can catch up to them in skill!)**, wally's girlfriend **(oh boy, you had me all kinds of blushing! Thanks for the really amazing review, I'm so happy that you really like my work. I actually had the most fun with Life, although Therapy is starting to become my favorite.)**, mistress0of0sin **(it's like a tiny movie all crammed into one chapter! I try to see what the actual look of the story would be, that's why I guess it's kind of like a mini movie haha)**, Aiwin **(Shikamaru is pretty good when it comes to sleeping….but then again, he's also pretty good at faking it as we've all seen before)**, kunf'you'z-ed **(Im sure you could write like me if you wanted to! Haha I don't think it's that hard to get to my level)**, XxFirexDance **(aw! Poor you. Sasuke is such a meanie sometimes…but that's why we all love him –sighs-)**, Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(haha I'm happy that you enjoyed the alley scene. It was extremely hard for me to write them IC while still getting what I wanted, but I'm so relieved that it paid off!)**, Kimi333 **(I just always thought that the reason Sasuke kept pushing was because he needed to succeed like his brother…so he had a fear of failing, something his brother never did. Hence the phobia in this)**, Pebbles of the Sand **(of course he's attracted to him…but the real question should be, will Sasuke be able to accept these feelings for Naruto or not?)**, Sakurananachan **(holy jesus you wrote a lot! Not that I'm complaining –grins- haha I am certainly not a god, but I'm happy that you liked the chapter! And Shikamaru may have to sneak in a few sneaky comments)**, Naruto-is-life **(oh thank you so much! I love that people like my lemons, but knowing that my character relationships are just as strong makes me happy!)**, hollowsmile **(sometimes I'll switch it up –though I'm sure you know that since you're such a nice person and have read my stories- but with a story like this, it works better to just have one POV)**, zerofangirl **(haha of course I wouldn't kill them off! Although I am going to mix some Romeo and Juliet into there, just to add to the story…and to make fun of one of my other stories –grins-)**, kat10788 **(uh…I have inspiration? From what you may ask…life I guess! Haha it's just the things that I think they'd say in the modern world…and I have to say, the finding of Iruka and Kakashi was one of my fav moments too)**, Mistress-Tsukiko **(haha well if you were him, wouldn't you want to keep quiet too? I mean gosh, none of us really want to ruin the SasuNaru moments!)**, Itooshii Koneko **(haha well imagine if their roommate was Lee? He'd be jumping around shouting out 'YOUTHFUL LOVE IS UPON US!' and it'd just completely ruin the mood)**, Robin Maxwell **(well I don't mind late reviews, since I kind of…well…didn't write till now –scratches head- I'm bad like that, I know, but I couldn't help it! That silly thing called life got in the way)**, CoffeeNeurotic **(yeah, nothing like a creepy stalker in a random Italian city to make you suddenly get much closer than before! Haha)**, Rogen-chan** (aw that's not nice! Why on earth would I make Shikamaru be up during that…-snickers-)**, FireonIce **(Oh wow, thanks so much! I'm glad that I made you happy with my two stories, and sorry for the wait. Silly life got in the way.)**, roxxihearts **(aw thanks! I'm just hoping that I can keep the romance while keeping them in character)**, Disgruntled Minion **(well I'm happy that you learned something from my story! For some reason, I keep informing people between psychology and Italy! Haha)**, Mallrats2007 **(oh boy! I don't want to kill you, but I'm happy that you were that into the action)**, asdf **(no problem, you're the reason I keep writing! If you people didn't like me, I'd never keep going.)**, Chiaki Megumi **(don't worry about the late review, sometimes we just cant get around to what we want to do –like this chapter- but I'm happy that you're still reading my stuff!)**, Nana-Riiko **(don't you apologize for shouting. I tend to laugh a lot during my review responses, it's all just natural. And I'm happy that you like the random tidbits!)**, Kib **(haha thank you very much! I'll try not to disappoint you all with this chapter!)**, a rather slytherin griffindor **(I guess I'll forgive you this time….-grins- just kidding! I'm just happy that you're still hanging with me!) **, 7thtreasure **(Well hello to you too! Haha you sure like the acronym 'omg' huh?)**, Eleanor Rigby 000 **(haha I'm really happy that you are enjoying the story so far! And it's good that the smaller pairings are cute without being distracting)**, rina77 **(and of course as soon as people tell me they cant wait, my life makes them! Haha but I'm glad that you like it so far)**, COFF33MAN1A **(eh, sometimes hormones get in the way of rational thought….and you just end up doing it wherever is convenient for you! –says that as if she has personal experience when she doesn't-)**, dragontwin99 **(hm, idk what do you think? You'll have to read the chapter to find out!)**, **and **hithurr **(Yeah, he is pretty cute huh? Even in the manga, sometimes I just wanna pop in and hug him!)

**Oh!** And if you guys have read my other stories, I spoofed one. =P It's pretty obvious which one I did, but I thought 'well, since they're in Verona…'

**Warning: ****Alright, there's some boyxboy action and lemons in this story so—GAH! –gets attacked by Sasuchan-**

**Disclaimer: ****Sasuchan: ** Hn. Niki is my Narukun, got it? No marriage proposals. No love confessions with expected returns. Niki ist meine und nur meine.

**Love in Verona? Oh Please…**

I expected to wake up warm and snuggled into the body that I had joined last night. In fact, I was kind of looking forward to it. So being greeted with nothing, not even the warmth of sheets, was definitely not the good morning I was expecting. I shivered and pushed up onto my butt, trying to locate just where my blankets had gone. Or Sasuke. Either one would make me heat up again. So when my eyes fell onto the teme finishing his packing, I blinked. Why the hell did he have to wake up to early anyways? Wait, was it early? I couldn't remember if today was one of our early days. Why was he dressed already? And why couldn't he leave the sheets?!

"Teme, where are the blankets?" He glanced up at me and gave me a look that questioned my sanity. I glanced around the bed again, seeing that everything had been stolen. I could faintly hear the shower from the closed bathroom door, and it reminded me of our other roommate. A flashback of glancing over at him last night was fresh in my head, but I tried to push it away to focus back on the present. The last thing I needed was to get aroused while Shikamaru was awake.

"I had them brought downstairs by the morning maid, since you decided to leave your mess on the sheets." I blushed and growled at the same time, torn between ripping his head off or burying my face back into his pillow.

"It wasn't just me ya know. You were a participating partner," I hissed out, deciding that glaring was still the best route to go. He stared at me silently, as if somehow his next sentence was somewhere on my face. After a few seconds of this he moved, finally zipping up his suitcase and slipping one of his arms through the backpack strap. It was just after he opened the door that I realized my voice box wasn't damaged. "Hey! You didn't even wake me up you bastard!"

"I'm not your mom," He replied, glancing back at me over his shoulder.

"No shit," I snapped back, silently wondering why we were both so angry. I mean hell, didn't we just dry hump on his bed last night? If you looked at the sheets, it'd be obvious. But watching the two of us fight would have made you think that nothing had changed. That we still hated each other as much as we had before. A part of me burned at the thought of going back, but I easily shoved it down. "But it's not a crime to stop being an asshole, teme."

"It's not a crime to use your brain either, but you haven't seemed to grasp that concept." I felt my fists clench at my side, and suddenly the thought of beating that solemn look off his face was extremely appealing. But he didn't give me time to react before he silently moved out of the room and shut the door behind him. Still feeling completely frustrated by his sudden coldness, I pulled a girl move and flung my (I'd remember later it was his and get even more pissed) pillow against the door. And when that didn't stop my upset feelings from calming down, I fell back on the bed and groaned.

What was his problem? Wasn't hethe one who kissed me first last night? And I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one who decided getting naked would be a good idea. But now it seemed like Sasuke almost forgot it even happened. Which I knew wasn't true, since he had the maids clean up the mess so Shikamaru wouldn't see it. So then what had gotten Sasuke's feathers in a bunch?

"Troublesome." I jumped at Shikamaru's voice. I glanced up to see him rubbing one of the towels from the hotel against his head. He sighed at my look and moved out of the bathroom doorway, not speaking until his ass found his bed. "Showers open. Bus leaves in twenty minutes."

"Why don't you people wake me up damnit!" I scrambled from the bed toward my clothes, fumbling to grab a pair of bowers while he answered the same way Sasuke had.

"I'm not responsible for you. If anyone should have woken you up, it should have been Sasuke." I froze at the sentence and looked over to him, watching his eyes glance up to the ceiling. "You did invade his bed and not mine."

"I didn't invade his bed!"

"You were in it though." I wanted to argue with him about how I was _ordered _into Sasuke's bed, but that would only make things worse. Plus, I didn't want to admit that I had listened to the bastard without any reason other than he wanted me to come over. That would be enough red flags for the genius. So instead, I finished gathering my clothes and raced into the bathroom. After nearly breaking my neck tripping over the side of the shower and almost dropping my clothes in a puddle, I managed to make it through the shower and shove everything I had packed into my suitcase. By the time I finished Shikamaru was gone, and I had to deal with another set of scolding looks from Iruka and the rest of the teaching staff. Really, if they were so concerned about me being on time, why didn't one of them check on me? I mean, the only time the pervert proctor checked in on us was when me and Sasuke almost kissed in the hotel room back in Rome. Stupid pervert, I swear he had a sexual tension radar in his body. Which part it was located in was something I never wanted to find out.

"I can't wait to get to Verona! It's going to be so pretty, especially since they took off all of the graffiti and stuff at the monuments of Romeo and Juliet." Sakura seemed to practically jump out of her seat with her excitement, which made me smile despite the anger I felt. Sasuke was staring down at his art pad, completely ignoring my presence when I sat next to him. Fine, two people could play that game!

"Hey, I remember talking about that city in English a while ago…isn't that where one of Shakespeare's boring plays was based?" Kiba's casual question had Sakura instantly huffing.

"It wasn't a dumb play! _Romeo and Juliet _is one of the most known pieces of theatre known in the entire world. It's the tragedy of love and how hatred can destroy even the most pure feelings."

"Not that Romeo and Juliet was even really Shakespeare's idea." The informative genius said next to Kiba, shrugging. "He took from two main stories. One was a Roman Myth about Pyramus and Thisbe who were also 'lovers' forbidden by their parents to see each other. But since their houses were connected, they were able to talk through a crack in the wall. The planned to meet at the mulberry tree, except some lioness caused both of them to kill themselves. Apparently the lioness scared Thisbe away, where she left her veil. Once Pyramus saw this, he assumed Thisbe was dead and killed himself. Of course Thisbe returned, and killed herself after she saw he was dead. What a drag."

"That doesn't sound romantic at all," Kiba said flatly, shaking his head when Shikamaru shrugged.

"The second one isn't any better. _Matteo Bandello _was the one who really made the idea of _Romeo and Juliet _for Shakespeare. He even had characters like the nurse and Benvolio. And then it got passed down and altered by some more people, eventually turning into Shakespeare's most well recognized play. Although Midsummer's was better."

"Isn't that the one with fairies and an ass?" Kiba sure had a way with words. Shikamaru looked at him slowly and sighed.

"Yes Kiba. It's all about fairies and an ass. I'm glad you got the concept." I laughed at the dripping sarcasm that Shikamaru normally was too lazy to use.

"So this Romeo and Juliet thing is just a load of crock? Then why are we going to Verona then?" I asked.

"Because they've got a building that's dedicated to the idea of Juliet. It's really just for the girls in my opinion."

"Shikamaru! Anyone whose interested in the work would want to come see it," Ino defended, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just because Juliet was an idiot and Romeo was horny doesn't mean that the story sucks. It's still a great piece of work."

"You only say that because you were Juliet in the tenth grade." Sakura rolled her eyes, ignoring Ino's instant glare.

"And you're just jealous that I was the main role while you were stuck as the nurse!"

"That was only because she felt bad for you."

"Not true!"

"Ladies, does it matter who played the role of the ill-fated Juliet? You both are beautiful flowers in my eyes." And to the rescue came Lee, who send both girls an admiring glance. Thankfully for the rest of us, it gave me enough time to interfere.

"Just because Ino got the main role doesn't mean she has to like it. I got stuck as Romeo and I still don't like the play." As if to prove my point, I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I mean seriously, who would want to go through all of that trouble for one run in the sack?

"Are we going to her tomb? I heard that it's supposed to be really fascinating." I blinked once at the fact that Neji finally opened his mouth. Who would have thought that Neji was a fan of Juliet? Then again, he kind of looked like a girl. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the image of Neji in a dress in order to focus on Shikamaru's shrug.

"Whatever."

"How far away is this place?" Ino asked, leaning back on her seat when the bus jerked into motion. As if he had heard her, Iruka's voice shot through the speakers and momentarily deafened all of us.

"Good morning! I hope that everyone enjoyed the sights of Florence and Assisi while we were here. Our last two stops on our trip are Verona and Venice, the two theatrical cities of Italy. We'll be reaching our destination of Verona in about an hour and a half, but we'll only have a short time to explore the city. Make sure to check out the attractions on the map before we have to leave." I grumbled a bit at the mention of the maps that were handed out to everyone when they came onto the bus. I heard a few people laughing from the front of the bus, and I sunk lower in my seat to try and ignore the knowing stares. It had been pretty obvious when we had returned last night what had happened to us. But admitting that the school genius had been dragged into total cluelessness because of the school idiot was not something I was proud of.

I glanced over to Sasuke, who seemed to be completely unaffected by the snickers while he continued to draw. I wanted to ask him what exactly he was drawing, but I couldn't get my mouth to work right. The cold stare he gave me earlier had stuck in my head, and not in a good way. So instead, I quietly watched his pencil draw and hoped that he'd start the conversation. Sasuke could open his mouth to mutter a 'what' or 'stop staring at me', which naturally got me speaking. Now that I thought about it, it happened a lot more than I realized. But as far as I could tell, Sasuke seemed perfectly fine in ignoring my stare and continuing with whatever he was drawing. A dull pain ached in the lower pit of my stomach.

Why did I even care? Really, Sasuke had PMSed way too many times to count. In fact if I hadn't uh…_felt _what I had last night, a part of me would still question his gender. But that didn't mean he stopped having his little emotional shut outs. Not to say he was exactly obvious with his feelings the other three weeks of the month, but it was far more responsive than right now. Either way, it didn't exactly explain why I was so focused on it. Normally I would just brush it off and continue my conversation with Kiba about our current prank ideas. Somehow we'd get back into a fight and Sasuke would return into his normal half-jerky self. It was what we were best at, after all.

But this time, something was just different. Normally he'd glare or snort at me, giving me some type of indication that he recognized and despised my presence at the moment. Instead, I was greeted with nothing. Even when our arms would occasionally brush from his pencil stroke of my natural squirming, nothing seemed to make him acknowledge I was sitting next to him. And he stayed like that for the entire bus ride to Verona. Hell, he didn't even look up when the bus came to a stop. Instead, he simply tucked his notebook back into his bag and slung it back onto his shoulder when he stood. It was enough to make me storm off of the bus and into the wide square that we were parked in.

"Look the water fountain, it's so pretty!" I listened to the girls giggle at the small fountain that was shooting water from every direction it could. Really the architects in Italy were completely different then back home.

"Stop daydreaming kit, Iruka's talking." A short jab against my ribs jolted me back into reality, and I silently glared over to Kiba before focusing my attention onto Iruka's speech.

"…and please be sure that you stay with someone who has a watch or alarm." Hey! We did have an alarm! …It just didn't really help after we got lost. "We've only got a few hours in Verona because we're planning going down to the beach next to the hotels. Other than that, have a good time in Verona."

"Alright Shikamaru! Lead the way to my house!" Ino linked her arm with the brunette's and excitedly waited for him to start moving. It took one slow blink and a heavy sigh before our Verona tour guide languidly moved through the roads that were much more spacious than the past two cities we had been in. I walked with Sakura and Hinata, who both seemed fascinated with the high arches that lay over some of the streets. The city was less crowed than Florence, but seemed to have just as much energy. It was starting to make my own energy spike enough to ignore the confusing feelings from before.

The open space was suddenly filled with people, and it took me a minute to realize why. The wall in front of us was covered with hanging leaves that surrounded a bronze statue barely able to be seen through the throng of people. To the left of the space was a plain wall, but the right was a stone building with a small balcony at the top. Most of the attention was focused around the entranceway to the building, but several flashes of cameras still circled around the woman statue. I barely had time to get into the area before I was yanked by Sakura through the people. If we were still with the group I wasn't sure, but I made sure to keep a firm hold on Sakura's hand in case someone hit into us. The last thing I needed was to get lost again.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" She only laughed, barely loud enough to rise past the murmuring crowd.

"To see Juliet's statue!" And with one quick tug, she managed to pull me away from the group and I stumbled before falling flat on my face. I moaned weakly while I pushed up onto my hands, shaking my head once to clear the fog. I looked up from where I sat to be greeted with a group of girls, all staring at me weirdly. Really it should have been the other way around, since the three were molesting the statue.

"Why are you grabbing her boob?" I watched the embarrassed looks cross their faces as they quickly moved from the statue, which had me grinning in victory. Well, until I felt a sharp pain across the back of my skull.

"You idiot!"

"Sakura that hurt!" I whined when she crossed her arms and gave me a glare that told me somehow I was in the wrong.

"There's an old myth about the statue of Juliet. You're supposed to have good luck in love if you grab her left breast." Where the heck did Shikamaru come from? And seriously, how did he know that? I swear the kid lived in an encyclopedia.

"So basically if you feel her up, you get some lovin'? This entire country is just made to get guys laid!"

"Naruto!" That got me another hard strike against my head. I sighed and rubbed the second bump before looking around to make sure my eyesight wasn't affected. She gave me one final look before she followed the crowd away from me. Where did she learn how to hit like that anyways? Probably Lee, since he was always going on about how everyone should know how to protect themselves from harm. That or she learned to protect herself from Lee. Either way he was involved, and that was all that really mattered for bushy brows.

"The beautiful Juliet!" Hey, speaking of the happy-go-lucky kid! I watched with amusement and Lee dragged Neji toward the statue, barely letting my eyes linger on the dark haired boy that silently followed behind them. The large crowd from before had weaved its way into Juliet's house, leaving the courtyard much quieter than before. Lee happily grabbed onto Neji's hand, not noticing how the Hyuuga's eye twitched faintly. Even if he had, I doubted it would have stopped Lee.

"Lee." Neji's warning landed on deaf ears, and I swore the normally controlled boy's ears turned red when bushy brows thrust his hand onto the bronzed breast of the statue. Easily I burst into laughter, ignoring the death glares I was receiving from Neji while he desperately tried to yank his hand back. But my back fell onto the courtyard ground when Lee's strength kept the embarrassed boy's hand rubbing the metal.

"You must embrace your teen years and take every chance at love you can! Our maiden Juliet will lend her young love to us so we may find our own true feelings!" The loud exclamations brought the two boys unwanted attention from the few people left in the courtyard. Some whispered, though most giggled or cooed at them. The red hue on his ears easily flew to his face at the murmurings of him and his best friend, but nothing seemed to bother bushy brows or his attempt to find Neji happiness. And honestly, who was I to stop such a hilarious show?

"Do I even want to know why Neji's feeling up that statue?" Kiba moved from the exit of the house, giving a weird look to Lee and Neji before turning back to watch me try and wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes. "And why is kit on the ground?"

"Because he's Naruto," Shikamaru answered, shrugging. "And I'm not explaining the lucky love life again."

"Damn, these Italians sure have an obsession with love. First they get you with the Trevi fountain and the whole 'Rome is romance' thing. Then there's a whole city based on two lovers who don't even exists. Now they've got Neji's hormones in a bunch by getting to second base with Juliet."

"Kiba—" But that was all Neji got out before his attention was brought back to Lee's iron grip. Knowing I'd probably be killed by Neji if I laughed again, I focused my attention onto Kiba's complaint.

"At least the fountain seemed to work for you and Hinata. You two have gotten pretty close." At the mention of the shy girl Kiba grinned, but even his smile didn't hide the slight blush his cheeks created.

"Yeah, I guess. Doesn't mean that it was the fountain that did it though. Any girl would have trouble not falling for me."

"Easy boy, don't start drooling over yourself." Shikamaru yawned and ignored the look that Kiba gave in order to watch the clouds over our heads. "Troublesome fountain."

"Troublesome my ass! We all know you're totally digging Ino," Kiba said quickly. If Shikamaru was embarrassed by the accusation, he hid it better than any of us with a nonchalant shrug.

"Exactly." His answer that really didn't answer anything confused all of us except Lee, who now tore himself away from the molestation in order to move into the conversation.

"Congratulations on you and Ino's connection! I wish you luck in her courting." He watched Shikamaru scratch his temple warily before turning his bushy brows back to me. I jumped at the almost expectant look in his eyes. "And you, Naruto?"

"Me what?" I asked slowly, not really sure I wanted to get into this conversation. But like Neji's forced grope, Lee never acted out of malicious intent. He was good-nature and what he did he considered 'helpful' for his lost friends.

"Have you found your love from the Trevi fountain yet?" I probably would have fallen over if I wasn't already on the ground. It was bad enough that my face probably lit up like a stop sign at the blunt question, and I had to stammer through a couple of incoherent words before I could answer.

"W-what?! When would I have…how…I don't…"

"You're red cheeks tell no lies Naruto! Who is the one that has stolen your heart?" There were times I really wished I had a mute button for life. Or maybe a rewind would be better. I could just go back and make it impossible for Lee to ask me that. Or rather, rewind four months ago and never have signed up for this trip at all. I could almost feel the curious glances of Kiba and Lee, while Shikamaru continued to watch the shapes of white drift by. I had no clue where Sasuke was looking, but I was not going to let my eyes go near him. The last thing I needed to do was let them know that me and Sasuke were more than just roommates. Imagine what Shikamaru would think!

"Lee." I blinked once when I heard the returning on Neji's steady voice into the conversation. I could see that most of the red was gone, and he seemed to compose himself as well as he could given the circumstances. His attention shifted from Lee to me, and then strangely to something to my left. It wasn't until I heard a soft 'hn' near me that I realized it was Sasuke he was looking at. I tensed at bit at the thought. Did Neji know? But how?! "Let's go inside now."

"But—"

"I'm sure that Sakura would enjoy your company through the tour of the house." That seemed to catch bushy brow's interest far more than my hidden crush. Leaping at the chance to spend more time with Sakura, Lee nodded happily and said a quick goodbye to us before practically running into the house. Not without grabbing Neji and dragging him along first.

"Phew." I wiped my forehead with my hand, instantly feeling a pressure lift from my shoulders. I wasn't exactly sure why Neji helped me out, but I owed him.

"Hey!" I looked around quickly at the sharp call, but the feminine voice didn't come from any of the guys around me. "Up here!" I glanced up at the sound of Ino's voice, and blinked when I saw her and Hinata both waving from the balcony. Grinning, I pushed myself to stand and waved.

"Well hey there you two. I see that Juliet has taken her faithful place up on her balcony." I bowed dramatically to them before smirking, watching Ino roll her eyes while Hinata blushed.

"And I see Romeo is being as corny as ever."

"Aw come on Ino! You loved me as your Romeo. I came up to your balcony and said-" I stepped forward a few steps, clearing my throat loudly for the girls to hear. "Hey there Juliet, what's shaking bacon?"

"Naruto, that's not the line at all! Shakespeare would never use 'bacon' as a way to address a woman!" Ino snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well how the hell am I supposed to remember the actual lines? You know that's basically what they said!"

"Well I remember _my _lines." And to prove it, Ino easily slipped into character and leaned against the railing like a dreamy teenage girl would. "_What man art thou, that, thus bescreened in night,  
So stumblest on my counsel?_" I grinned when the broken old English came to me, and I decided that having some fun in the actual city of Verona could be interesting. Especially since a few people had started to watch me and Ino's performance. Even Shikamaru stopped his cloud-gazing to look. But really, what got me going wasn't a stranger or friend. Feeling the lingering gaze on my left, I decided I wanted to keep the bastard's attention on me.

"_By a name  
I know not how to tell thee who I am.  
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself  
Because it is an enemy to thee.  
Had I it written, I would tear the word_." If there was one thing I respected about Romeo, it was his ability to sweet talk. I could have used a few of these lines with Tsunade, except she practically knew the play by heart.

"_My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words_

_Of thy tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound._

_Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?" _Jesus she was good. I couldn't help but smile when she spoke her lines as if we had just done the play last week instead of almost two years ago. It was enough to catch me off guard.

"That sounded kind of kinky."

"Naruto!"

"You were talking about tongues and sounds!" But when I received a narrowed gaze from both Ino and the group watching us (particularly two sets of dark eyes), I quickly sighed and fell back into character. "_Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike._"

"_How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?  
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,  
And the place death, considering who thou art,  
If any of my kinsmen find thee here._"

"Yeah yeah, uh…something about watching you…uh…oh! I remember this. It's where I'm trying to tell you anything you want so I can bang you."

"Naruto…"

"It's _Romeo _to you. _With love's light wings did I o'er perch these walls;  
For stony limits cannot hold love out,  
And what love can do that dares love attempt;  
Therefore thy kingsmen are no let to me._"

"Jerk." I grinned at her heated glare before shaking my head.

"That's not the line, Juliet."

"I'm not getting married to you, even if it's for twenty four hours."

"But you're supposed to be in love with me!" She sighed as if somehow it was my fault that we had stopped our scene before she picked up again.

"_If they do see thee, they will murder thee._"

"_Alack_, _there lies more peril in thine eye  
Than twenty of their swords! Look thou but sweet,  
And I am proof against their enmity." _I paused before grinning mischievously up at Ino. "Besides, we both die in the end. So I say we skip this part and go straight for the honeymoon."

"You are the _worst _Romeo ever!" But even when she said that, I could hear some clapping in the male population of the crowd we had gathered. The girls didn't seem to enjoy me so much.

"You want it."

"I want a replacement."

"Fine, then take Shikamaru!" I yanked the brunette over to me, despite the slightly annoyed look he had on. "I don't even _like _girls. I'd probably just look crappy in tights now anyways."

"Fine, I will!"

"Fine, have fun making out with your new Romeo," I teased, enjoying the burst of color on Ino's face.

"Troublesome girl." Shikamaru rubbed his temple slowly, but I could see the faint blush dusting his cheeks.

"_Your _troublesome girl. And I bid you all _adieu_." I patted his shoulder before bowing to the crowd and walking away from the mixture of laughing, clapping, and scoffing. I made it back to Sasuke and Kiba, that latter of the two still laughing.

"How the hell did you ever pull off Romeo?"

"It was either that, or have detention for a month," I said, shrugging while casually glancing over to Sasuke. I felt my smile practically break my cheek bones when his glare narrowed on me. Somehow Kiba sensed the heated tension between the two of us, because he quickly took a step back and pointed back to where I had left Shikamaru.

"Well while you two have your cat fight, I'm gonna stay safe with Shika." And just like that, Kiba scooted away with his tail between his legs. But even if he had stayed, I doubted that I would have paid attention to him. Right now, my focus was Sasuke.

"You like?" It was casual, but I could feel the cocky tone rolling off of my tongue when I spoke.

"I'm surprised your brain has a big enough capacity to fit those words into it."

"I'm smarter than you give me credit for." At that he scoffed quietly before coldly smirking.

"You're still stupid."

"It wouldn't kill you to compliment me you know!"

"What's there to compliment you on? You made a complete fool of yourself." His words stung a bit more than I expected, and I had to clench my fists to keep from lunging for him.

"I was just having fun you bastard! You know, that thing you try to kill any chance you can?"

"Because parading myself like an idiot in the middle of a city is what I consider pleasurable." Alright, I had enough of this. Moving forward quickly, I snatched the front of his shirt in my hand and jerked him forwards. Even though I had to look up to catch his eye, I made sure to have it before I spoke.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! First you completely ignore me, acting like I don't even exist. Then you pull a complete 180 and start insulting me every time you open your mouth. You're acting like nothing's changed between us!"

"Who says they have?" The short comment froze me, but I quickly recovered by shoving him hard. Easily he caught his balance, but I didn't bother to wait for his glare to turn around and walk toward the entrance of Juliet's house. Whether he knew it or not, Sasuke had just sucker-punched me in the stomach. The air that had been so easy to breathe in before now escaped me. I didn't look at any of the artifacts of pieces of clothing that were displayed in the halls while I moved. Really I wasn't sure where I was going at the moment. I was flushing from pure anger, and I could feel my entire body shaking in the need to tear something apart. That fucking _bastard_.

"Naruto?" I threw my glance over to the questioning voice, and only halted my glare once I realized it wasn't Sasuke. Sakura's concerned gaze filled my vision, and I forced a smile onto my lips when I scratched the back of my head.

"Sorry Sakura! Teme was just getting under my skin again." Before she could ask what had happened, I quickly searched the room we were in. My interest was instantly brought to the set of computers that now sat in the middle of the room. "What the heck are those?"

"Oh, those are the letter stations. If you want, you can type out a letter to Juliet and she'll send you one back! I'm going to do one now just for fun." Normally, I would have rolled my eyes and made a comment that would have had Sakura hitting me for the third time that day. However, the idea of getting rid of some steam was seriously appealing. And since I'd get sent home and suspended for fighting Sasuke on the trip, this seemed to be the next best thing. So I moved myself over to one of the open computers, looking at the blinking marker at the top of the light pink document. I looked over to see that Hinata and Sakura were already typing at the computers, and I could only imagine what they were saying. Shaking my head, I cracked my knuckles before writing a slightly different letter.

_Dear Juliet,_

_How the hell did you deal with Romeo? I mean really, he didn't even see you in a 'romantic' light until a couple days before your death. Then there was the whole 'courting' idea that never really happened. He decided that you weren't worth it really, and that you could do all the work in the relationship. Sure he fought some sword fights, but you were the one sneaking your way around your mother and coming up with the potion plan. Everyone gives Romeo the credit, saying he's so smart and handsome, when really you were the one who should get the credit!_

_Not to mention he completely rushed the honeymoon. Even an idiot can figure out that he was using you for sex! I mean yeah, you were probably a hot blonde that was hard to resist. And you probably wanted it too because you were infatuated with him and he just made you feel really good. But if he was so into you, why did he want to rush it so bad? Unless he was a fortune teller and knew that you two were going to die, he wasn't thinking with the right head. And he didn't, trust me. And then after that, it's like you're not even there! He just goes off in the morning as quick as he can and does his own thing without you. What a teme!_

_And let's not forget how he just screws everything up! Just goes off and kills Tybalt. Like _that _is going to help the situation any! And instead of just coming to you and talking through his problems, Romeo goes and leaves you alone. And I'm sure if you had gone and tried to talk to him, he would have just snapped at you or done something completely stupid. He's always doing that, just deciding when he's going to be calm and when he's going to be a complete dick. I can't even tell when he's going to change, or why. Who really says nothing's changed when just the night before, you two were giving each other hand jobs?! I'll tell you who. Stupid bastards like Sasuke! And wh—_

"Sasuke?" I jumped and quickly jerked around to face two sets of widened eyes staring at me. The green pair slowly blinked while the pale eyes looked anywhere but my face. After a few failed attempts to open my mouth, Sakura spoke again. "You're writing a love note about Sasuke?"

"No!" I said, much too quick for anyone to believe. I winced and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I could already tell by the way Sakura looked at me that she had read some of the note. I had been so distracted in my writing about 'Romeo' that I hadn't even realized both girls were behind me. Desperate to change the subject, I quickly crossed my arms. "What were you doing reading my note?"

"We just…we ca-came over to tell you w-we were leaving! We didn't mean to," Hinata answered quietly, seeming much more guilty than her pink-haired accomplice. Staying mad at Hinata was practically impossible, so I tried my luck with Sakura.

"So your eyes just happened to read everything that I was writing?"

"It's not like we planned on reading it. I just saw 'teme', which I thought was weird for you. You only use that name with Sasuke, but…this was supposed to be a love letter so I didn't really think you would write about him." There was an awkward silence between us that had me shifting my weight constantly to keep from bolting out of the room. The urge got even stronger when I noticed the confused look in Sakura's features. "But you said his name. You were writing about Sasuke."

"I….I was just pissed off! I needed to tell someone about what an asshole he was."

"You said you two…" But the flush in her features told me she really _had _read everything. I glanced hesitantly to Hinata and noticed how bright her cheeks had gotten. Well fuck, this was weird. What do you do when two of your classmates find out that you hooked up with the school's prince asshole? Not to mention the fact that he probably didn't want his dirty laundry aired out like that. If I wasn't so pissed off at him from earlier, I may have just felt a little bit bad. Pushing my thoughts about Sasuke away (I'd deal with him later if he ever decided to stop being a dick), I took a deep breath and nodded.

"I like Sasuke." I constantly switched my gaze between them, waiting for one of them to crack. Really I thought it'd be Sakura that said something first. So when Hinata gave me a weak smile and parted her lips, I felt surprised.

"Congratulations Naruto-kun. I'm…I'm happy f-for you both!"

"Uh…what?" My pointless sentence snapped Sakura out of her silence long enough to nod.

"Yeah, we're both voting for you. We already told you that we were fine with your liking guys, and having a crush on Sasuke doesn't change our minds."

"I-It's not a crush damnit! You make it sound all girlish or whatever!" They both laughed at my scowl, which really wasn't what I was aiming for. Either way, it felt nice to know that they weren't all talk. Sakura and Hinata both seemed honestly comfortable with the situation.

"Well whatever you want to call it, we're here to help." Sakura leaned closer to me, quieting her voice enough to keep the conversation out of any passerby's ears. "But just so you know…Romeo was only a really confused, teenage boy who probably had about as much experience in love as Juliet. It's why he fell back on his natural instincts and killed Tybalt. It was what he was used to. Romeo may not have been perfect, but Juliet couldn't see his—sorry,_ her_ life without him. That's why they both died in the end. You understand?"

"He doesn't love me." I didn't feel comfortable in thinking that he did.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Does it matter?" Her eyes stared into mine as if she could read what I was going to say before my lips had even parted.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you love him anyways?" Our exchange was quick until this point, and it was the first time I let myself hesitate.

"What's the point in answering that? You said it yourself; Romeo and Juliet died." It was her turn to pause, flipping the statement over in her brainy head before smiling.

"Romeo and Juliet also had warring parents, a prince out for Romeo's head, another suitor looking for Juliet's hand, and a forbidden relationship that nobody accepted." Damn, she had a point. Really, I shouldn't give her time to think next time. "Not everything is the same, just the main points. Two teenagers in love that are having trouble being together. Your trouble is a little more mental than physical, but it's still the same."

_It's still the same._ That one fragment of a sentence ran through my head the rest of the day. I barely paid attention to Juliet's tomb, only nodding or looking around when someone would say my name. Sasuke seemed to be okay with staying on the other side of the group, quietly talking to Neji. I was fine with watching Kiba try to barter with the street sellers for knock-off watches. And this time, we made sure to leave a half hour early to get to the bus. I felt good knowing that we were the first group to get there. Now all I needed was a miracle to get me and Sasuke alone long enough to talk.

For a while, I didn't think it was going to happen. On the bus, Kiba decided to ask me something two seconds before I had built up enough courage to talk to Sasuke. At dinner, we were sat at different tables. The tables weren't even close together. Then the bus ride to Venice was filled with Iruka explaining our orders for the night. We were going to go up to our rooms, drop off our stuff and worry about setting up later. You'd think maybe I'd have some time to talk with him then, right? Nope. Iruka pulled me, Sasuke, and Shikamaru aside to tell us we weren't going to be staying in the hotel. They didn't have enough room for us, and so they offered an apartment next to the hotel. And hey, who were we to complain about getting a five room place to ourselves? There were even two separate bedrooms. By the time Iruka had shown us where our apartment was (we were right under the counselors), it was practically time to go. So I didn't even attempt to try and talk to the bastard. After all, I didn't really want to cram a serious issue like that into twenty seconds. Hell, that wasn't even long enough for a good kiss between us.

You ever heard the saying 'good things come when you least expect them'? It really should be more like 'good things come when you forget about the good things that you want to come'. Because when I stepped out onto the darkened beach, the rolling waves crashing onto the white sand was all I concentrated on. The water looked black from the cloak of night, and with each blow of the wind, we could feel the mist of freezing water brushing out skin. It didn't stop us from running over to the receding waves, and me and Sakura tried to outrun the returning crashes of water back onto the soggy sand.

It wasn't long before Ino called us over to the others to play some night tag. Sakura easily ran ahead, and I was going to follow until movement from behind me caught my attention. Glancing over my shoulder, I blinked once while watching Sasuke quietly walk along the edge of the water, letting the freezing ocean waves crash over his pale bare feet. Hesitating a bit, I decided that the gods were finally giving me a damn break. I easily jogged after him, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound like 'hey Sasuke, I might be in love with you. Wanna tell me everything that's been going on in your head?' I was pretty sure that would only make the situation worse.

"Why are you walking without shoes on?" If he was surprised that I followed he didn't show it, continuing to watch the dark water collapse on his feet before being sucked back into the ocean.

"Hn." I scrunched my nose in irritation at his lack of a comment.

"You're gonna get sick asshole." He didn't answer me. I rubbed one of my arms slowly when a cold wind tossed salty droplets against our skin. Here I was chastising him about being stupid while I decided to leave my sweatshirt at the hotel. I caught his silent glance over to me, his eyes lingering on the bare skin of my arms before he turned his face forward again.

"Dobe."

"Teme!" He snorted at my knee jerk reaction to his insult. Everyone knew our signature names for each other. When one of us would use it, the other had to respond. Dobe and teme just belonged together.

"Hn." After that we fell silent while continuing to walk down the beach. Several times I opened my mouth to try and ask him what really was happening in his head, but nothing came out. If he noticed he didn't say anything, preferring to watch his feet or the invisible path we were walking. Eventually we'd have to turn and go back, but for now it seemed alright to just keep walking straight.

"You're not supposed to go off on your own." It was lame, I know. But it was better than sitting in complete silence.

"I didn't." I didn't know if the sentence or the fact he made a sentence threw my off balance.

"What do you mean?! I don't see anyone but us here!" He slid his hands casually into his pockets while he walked, completely unaffected by my shouting.

"Exactly."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're here." He said it as if somehow, that would clarify everything. So when I only growled in response, he seemed to realize I didn't get it yet. "If you're here, I'm not alone, idiot."

"But I wasn't with you when you started to walk!"

"I knew you'd follow eventually. You always do." If I looked close enough, I swore I could see him smirk. "Nothing's changed."

"Nothing's changed?" I jerked ahead of him, forcing him to stop. I didn't care that my shoes were now filling with water or that I'd be uncomfortable the entire walk home. I just cared about the almost passive look in Sasuke's features while I glared up at him. "Nothing is the same with us! Don't you get it? Friends don't just…just _do _that with each other! So for you to sit there and spew shit about 'nothing changing' is just stupid. I've changed, you've changed, my feelings have cha—"

"Feelings have what?" He challenged me, stepping forward as if daring me into a fight. I shook the hesitation I had before in order to finally shed light onto what the real problem was.

"Changed, teme. My feelings have changed. And so have yours." I felt my hands unclench and fall limp at my sides, not sure what else I was supposed to say. He stared at me and I stared back, because I really wasn't sure which one of us was supposed to speak next. Hell, I didn't even know what I expected to be said. Sakura telling me that Sasuke had feelings was one thing. Sasuke giving me a hand job was a much bigger, blunt thing. But when it came to actually having Sasuke give any verbal sense of agreement, and not being able to blame it on his body, was something entirely different. The bastard hardly opened his mouth as it was, never mind to tell me that he was interested in me.

So once again, he let his body do the talking. I closed my eyes in frustration when leaned forward, not sure if I wanted to accept his mouth against mine yet. But when his tongue pressed impatiently against my lower lip, I decided pouring my stress into his kiss was better than nothing. Harshly I pushed back against his mouth, only parting my lips to shove his tongue back where it belonged. I followed my pursuit into his parted lips, unwillingly shivering when his cold hands pressed along my sides. The warmth of his mouth amazed me, and I quickly darted my tongue to taste every part of the inviting heat. My tongue roughly pressed against his at the same time he yanked my body hard to him. The sharp movement slanted our mouths and I hissed when our teeth hit. He grunted in reply before forcing our mouths together again.

I couldn't stop his assault inside my mouth, because Sasuke had some type of fix with being in control. He dived past my lips and into my mouth, moving to interact with my idle tongue again. I mentally smacked myself for the moan I released into the kiss when his hands slid to my back. Their movements didn't stop until they cupped my ass, making me bite his tongue in shock. It didn't leave him immobile for long, and I suddenly felt myself being lifted. Immediately detesting the idea, I twisted and turned in his grasp until he finally put me back on the ground. Once I had my footing I shoved my mouth away from his. It was either that, or fall victim to the hazy warmth that was creeping in my head.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?!" I panted to try and refill my lungs while I stared up at the silent bastard in front of me. "One minute you're preaching about how normal everything is, the next you're shoving your tongue down my throat. Which one is it? Do you like me or not?!"

"Dobe." I tried to pull back at the sharp tone, but he caught my chin with his hand and forced me to stay still. In retaliation I glared, showing my obvious aggravation with the situation he was forcing me into. If he noticed it he didn't show it, seeming satisfied in the fact that I wasn't trying to pull away again.

"What teme?" I finally muttered, not wanting to wait for him to break the silence. Something flashed in his eyes before he scowled, dropping his hand to his side and turning from me.

"It's time to go back." And that was the last thing he said to me at the beach. He didn't explain why he had grabbed my chin or how far he was planning on going with me. There was no reasoning for what he had been thinking about when he kissed me. And the answer to why he said we had to leave, when his alarm went off almost five minutes after we started to walk back, still remained unknown. Then again, I wasn't voicing my questions. I was simply rolling them around in my head, trying to wrack my brain for the answers that I had never been given. And even through the bus ride home and the return to the apartment, I still had no clue what was going on.

"Alright, how are we doing this?" I glanced over to Shikamaru, who sighed while he picked up the luggage we had tossed into the kitchen. That's right; we even had our own cooking area.

"Sasuke's already decided." He directed his gaze to the bastard who now was brining his stuff into the room on the right.

"Just because he's picked a room doesn't mean we have. You can sleep wherever the hell you want." I blinked when Shikamaru sighed and started to move toward the other room. I moved to speak again, but stopped when Shika sent me a lazy glance over his shoulder.

"After last night, I'll let you two share a room." My face instantly flushed at his reasoning. And yet he said it so casually, you'd think he was talking about something he read in the newspaper and not the fact he had heard me and Sasuke getting sexual in the bed next to his. This kid really was bothered by nothing, no matter how many times he said 'troublesome'. He gave me a lazy wave and moved into his room, shutting the door behind him. I grabbed my stuff, moving slowly toward the room I was forced into and wondering how long he had really been awake. I shook my head, trying to disperse the blush while I glanced into the small room I was now sharing with Sasuke. He was already in bed, his back facing me and his clothes strewn on the ground. He was already asleep? I felt the urge to throw something at his head just to feel better about today, but I didn't want to break anything. So instead I dropped my bags to the floor, mumbling to myself about annoying bastards while I tossed my shirt off. I then moved my solo conversation onto stoic temes while I slid my socks and soaked shoes from my feet. And by the time I had slid my pants down my legs, I somehow came to the conclusion that I didn't even care if he liked me.

So when I looked up to see his dark gaze on me, my heart shouldn't have stopped. And when his eyes flickered down my body, it shouldn't have made my cock jerk beneath my boxers. A motion he seemed to catch, because his lips twitch before he looked back up to me. By now my face was warm while my entire body shivered. How did he do that? When I was sure he was feeling one way about me, he completely turned it around and left me confused. I had given him a chance to just admit he liked me too and he hadn't taken it. But now that he was staring at me with an obvious interest, I wasn't so sure he would have said no earlier.

He quietly closed his eyes, returning his head back on his pillow as if nothing had just happened. The only difference was he was now facing me, and the same open space from the night before returned. He didn't command me to come, or look at me in a way that silently said that he expected me to do. One of his arms was slid under his pillow while the other rested on his side in a position I was sure was uncomfortable.

He finally shifted his arms to wrap around my waist when I lay silently against him, leaving the unknown feelings from today stirring in my stomach. I had one more day to figure out what he was feeling, right? A sense of déjà vu from last night washed over me, bothering me while I shut my eyes. Hadn't I had those same thoughts? But now a day later, I had even more questions that were unanswered. Hopefully Venice would bring me some answers.

Yeah, right.

**Well that's it for this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, I just...gah, I was being stupid this week is all. Sorry again for the wait and I hope you all don't hate me! We've only got two chapters left, and emotions are running high for everyone. Just what will happen in Venice? I'm not really sure you want to know…tell me what you thought of the chapter! Thanks.**

**Chapter Nine:**** Venice, the Sinking City of Heartbreak**


	9. Venice, the Sinking City of Heartbreak

I AM NOT DEAD! Haha I had someone ask me if I was, and I'm not. Just…that life thing… Anyways! Two chapters left! So let's get rolling! First thank you goes to **Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(haha yes, Sasuke is a character that we all hate to love)**. **Now for the rest of you! **AKANEx **(oh no your English was fine! And thanks for the review, I was just happy that you liked it)**, XxFireDance **(haha I love these little comics so much! They brighten my day )**, Kimi333 **(haha well Sasuke can be irritating, but we wouldn't love him with Naruto unless they were opposites!)**, Wopsidaisy **(yeah I really do have a pattern, but in the end they always turn out happy…right?)**, Lilibakasaru **(Shikamaru is not only a genius, but knows when to let his cards show and just who to show them to)**, Vernon Sullivan **(oh yes, Sasuke is secretly a romance vampire, so he can only show romance at night. Haha)**, Itooshii Koneko **(haha sorry that I made you wait so long after writing such a nice review! Writers block kills me)**, Coffee Neurotic **(yeah, nothing more embarrassing than finding out you're not as sneaky as you thought you were!)**, kat10788 **(yup, I told her and she said thank you! And by the end of this, you may not think Sasuke is the mean one)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqeak **(I don't like to tease you guys, it just happens sometimes!)**, Mystique Monique aka Mina **(well that's just his job, don't be angry! And its not always Sasuke who is bad at this romance thing)**, perboss **(it will all be answered in the end, I promise you that! Sasuke will have a reason for being the way he is)**, miskie27 **(sorry about the wait, the writer's block is killing me. But I'm hoping to tying the picture into the end of it…trust me =) hee hee)**, Pebbles of the Sand **(oh the man was just kind of random. And I promise this can happen, when strangers become fixated with people, because I've experienced it –shivers-)**, Uchiha Akimoto **(the fact that you are frusterated with Sasuke's lack of emotion is kind of a compliment, since that's what I'm aiming for.)**, lydia-chan **(yes, I know that the title of the chapter is just positively evil. But I really did warn all of you in the info!)**, Naomily **(haha well I guess that's a good thing. I mean, I do try to make it all realistic for you guys!)**,smith Courtney **(-blushes- aw thanks for the compliment! I don't really try, but I'm happy you find my writing cute)**, kunf'you'z-ed **(I guess I should say be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it…)**, Chiru-lili **(haha well all good things have to come to an end. I've been attached to this story too, so I know how you feel)**, Searafina **(oh I'm so jealous! Living in California must be so cool!)**, roxxihearts **(haha don't we all know it. Nothing is worse than having your heart and head fight it out)**, redfoxmoon **(Of course he gets jealous, that is his Naruto of course =P.) **, jenniebennie **(haha yeah I know, half of the world would give and arm and a leg to be in Shikamaru's position)**, zerofangirl **(you have to concentrate in school! I'll feel better when I write in the summer so I don't have to worry about everyone's school –sighs-)**, Kazanrai **(well now you won't have to worry, because here it is!)**, Aiwin **(yay you got the joke! –hands cookie- and yes, this chapter may not be all that it seems…mwhahaha)**, XMissxPepperX **(haha yes I did get marriage proposals, and you were right on with your analysis! Good job!)**, Honey **(well if that made you blush, you are going to have some problems with this chapter –grins-)**, Rogen-chan **(complicated is the least of their worries…keep their mouths shut is their problem)**, kib **(of course it'll blow over! I'm sure if it didn't you would all kill me… and I like my life)**, sakurananachan **(haha well you were right on with your analysis of his fear thing…just remember that at the end of this chapter)**, NaruSasuNaruLover **(Everyone wants to be Shikamaru…well, except Shikamaru of course!)**, Gold Chocolate cake **(aw thank you, I'm happy you are happy! And yeah, Sasuke does have issues but he'll get over em)**, Dreamevil **(-HUGS- you are amazing! Thank you sooo much for the nice review! That made my life!)**, Aachen **(haha well then this chapter is probably more for your type of people who are pissed at Sasuke right now)**, -Nightly Halo- **(legos are friggen fantastic! They are probably one my favorite child toys that I used to play with. Aw, now I want to go find some…-sighs-)**, asdf **(I'm not going to lie…I love Sasuke and Naruto and their pairing and stuff…but my favorite character to play with is Shikamaru, because he has a surface character and then a wicked deep character…I just love him!)**, norway22 **(now who said that it was going to be Sasuke doing the breaking? =P)**, fabulousfan **(I am really sorry about my lack of writing! College is kicking my butt and writer's block…just don't want to disappoint you all…me and Sasuke have something in common!)**, UchihaSymbol **(oh don't worry, I am taking forever with the chapters –sighs-)**, yaiohime22 **(well in this story, yes Naruto will be uke…but I think there can be times where Sasuke fits better, which I will be writing eventually…just not this one)**, FireonIce **(yeah Sasuke's character is wicked annoying at times. Especially when you're writing and trying to keep him IC during a romance scene! –sighs- so is life)**, Unwritten.25 **(thank you very much for the nice review! The other characters…huh…well some say it's a LeeSaku, some said its NejiLee…so I'm just leaving it open to what the readers want!)**, Exorcist Miranda **(hee hee, oh how wrong you were with that little assumption…-snickers-)**, Chipfest **(yup, only two chapters left. Well, now one!)**, Chiaki Megumi **(calm down, I'm sure that your review will be the exact opposite in this chapter)**, Dirty little rockstar **(haha yeah it can be, but he's going to get a taste of how it feels to be on the other side of it)**, Kida-san **(Yes, we all know and sort of love the Sasuke that has icicles up his ass)**, Eleanor Rugby 000 **(aw thank you so much! I don't think it's the best, but I do try…)**, Disgruntled Minion **(yeah I'm kind of curious how I'll end this too…I mean…don't worry it'll be good! …I hope…)**, a rather slytherin griffindor **(good! I love when people like the minor characters, because they play important parts of the story. Like pushing the plot and helping the main characters!)**, KatrinaEagle **(haha yeah well the sweetness kind of runs short in this one…)**, hollowsmile **(haha well who knows. If he was, that would mean Sasuke saw him as a potential mate before their kiss and stuff!)**, SoulSpiritHeart **(haha well thank you very much. Sometimes I look at my own work and wonder wtf Im doing too!)**, Jumby Joo **(haha you are just too funny! And you might be surprised what this author has up her sleeve…=P)**, Camis **(oh your English is fine, don't worry about it! And thanks for the sweet review, but you better keep up with your school work!)**, Mallrats2007 **(Because he's Sasuke, and he has to do it in a way that fits him! Haha)**, robin Maxwell **(well good luck to your friend! I hope that everything works out for him, I know it must be hard to go against the norm.)**, 7thtreasure **(haha maybe you feel too much like a fangirl? Because they seem to scream that a lot!)**, kimi **(haha Sasuke just needs a little push….-hint hint-)**, LuvNaruto100 **(yes there is love in Verona, but what about Venice? Guess you'll just have to look and see)**, dragontwin99 **(thanks! I'm feeling really nervous because so many people are waiting for this, and I'm not sure if I've got it right…-bites nails-)**, Akiru chan **(I'm really sorry about the review. Your guess is on the right track, although I think people are going to be thrown off by this chapter. It will all make sense in the end!)**, Ashley Uchiha **(haha normally heartbreak is pretty sad. But I tried not to make it as horrible as some of my other chapters…=) I tried)**, **and **Mal **(Thanks! I'm trying to update fast, but life doesn't agree with me)**.**

**Warning: ****Lime-goodness! Oh, that little tiny itty bitty…angst…-coughs- yeah…**

**Disclaimer: ****so uh…-reads from note card Sasuchan wrote- My Sasuchan helped me with this very special scene… -drops card- aka, I did nothing but add words to the Naruto cast…-grins- **

**Venice, the Sinking City of Heartbreak **

I woke up to an unpleasant repeat of the morning before. The only benefit was that he let me keep the sheets. I sent a quiet glance out the window, barely squinting when the sun bore into my gaze. I rubbed my eyes when I pushed up, stumbling my way through the empty room and into the open kitchen. When all I found was a silent bastard sitting at the table with no Shikamaru in sight, I cursed.

Maybe I should have stayed in bed.

"Where's Shika?" I didn't want him to see how last night's questions kept replaying in my head. I kept my gaze moving, trying to admire the plain yellow walls of the apartment we were staying in. It was a pathetic attempt to get my mind off of the scoffing boy in front of me.

"Ino called him." He paused as if remembering something important. "He said he'd meet us at the bus in an hour."

"An hour?" '_Alone with you'_ was on the tip of my tongue, but I bit it to keep myself from speaking. Damnit what was wrong with me? Thinking about the question I almost snorted. I should have been asking what _wasn't _wrong with me. My life was turning into some teenage girl's drama fantasy; I was starting to go crazy, my sexual orientation had switched in one week, and I was head over heels for a stoic bastard that thought I was about as important as the gum underneath his shoe. But other than that, I guess I was pretty fine. "We're leaving pretty late today."

"We're getting home late."

"Thanks for the brilliant deduction."

"Take a shower dobe." I glared over to him quickly, automatically not liking the commanding tone he used to order me around.

"I'll take a damn shower whenever I want to take one!" I stormed back into the room we had shared and snagged some of the last clean clothes I had bothered to pack before moving through the kitchen, not looking at him when I passed. I already could feel the overconfident smirk on his lips. "That just happens to be now."

"Sure." I growled and slammed the door twice as hard as needed and threw my clothes onto the toilet cover before jerking the shower on. I grumbled throughout my stripping session, only getting angrier when I realized the bathroom door didn't have a lock. What kind of people didn't have locks on their doors?! I shoved my boxers down my legs, kicking them across the room and quickly moving into the shower. For the size of the bathroom, the shower was a small square that would barely fit two people in it. Not that I wanted to do anything! Smacking my forehead, I angled the showerhead a little to the right of my body before I started to scrub the flop of yellow I called hair.

Fun fact: Fifty-four percent of women think about exercising and household chores in the shower. Fifty-seven percent of men think about sex or work in the shower. And what do most Narutos think of? Sasukes. Uchiha Sasukes. One hundred percent of the time. I wasn't really sure if that counted as sex or work; maybe a little of both? Either way, my head continued to drift between the past two nights and the one eighty that Sasuke continued to pull every time I thought I understood him. Did he like me? If he didn't continue to attack me with his mouth and offer a spot in his bed, I'd say no. He had even said himself that there was nothing between us. I paused in my thinking before mentally rolling my eyes. No, he didn't say those _exact _words to me. But he kept pointing out how 'nothing changed'. Didn't that say something about his outlook on our relationship? Or rather, what it wasn't?

I banged my head against the shower wall once for even considering an intimate bond with Sasuke. He was the kid I wanted to punch just a few days ago! Six days and suddenly I couldn't keep his aggravating smirk out of my head. And of course, thinking about his smirk brought my attention to the pale soft lips I knew better than probably anyone else. As if on cue my body shivered at the memory of skill that his mouth possessed. For someone who tried to keep his distance from other people, he sure had a way with his tongue. Maybe he knew his skill and feared the fangirls finding out? I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and tried to erase the warm feeling in my chest at the same time. Why did my heart get so uncontrollable when it came to the bastard in the kitchen? And did he ever get the same unwanted feelings bubbling in the pit of his stomach? Did he even know what emotions were?

I scrubbed the shampoo out of my hair before I started to wash my sweat away. This shower was leaving too much room for unwelcomed thoughts. Dealing with the physical reactions of being around Sasuke was hard enough. I knew that I had caught myself staring at him for longer than allowed a few times throughout yesterday's exploring. Hell, I put a whole show on just to keep his attention on me. Not to mention my skin practically crawled in pleasure any time he brushed my arms with his. I leaned against the wall of the shower, closing my eyes in frustration while my body started to react. I couldn't even _think _of him without my dick getting overly happy. As if it would solve my problem, I glared down at my rebelling body. I bet the teme didn't react like this.

"Fuck," I whispered, hitting my head painfully against the wall. There he was, popping into my thoughts again. Blaming it on the water, I angled the steaming streams of liquid back against my skin. Watching the soap slid along my skin and down into the drain, I prayed my annoying thoughts went with it. Once I felt washed, I shut off the shower and pulled the towel from the railing to dry off while pushing past the curtain…and straight into a puddle of water. Just my luck. I sighed and stepped to the side to avoid any more water, but nearly slipped on the surface that was soaked. Grabbing the wall to steady myself, I stared in shock at the mini pool that had been created in the bathroom. "What the hell is this?!"

"What are you doing now?" I could hear Sasuke's mumbled question through the door, and a moment of panic went through me. I couldn't let Sasuke see this! That would just make him think I'm an even bigger idiot that he already assumed. I slipped my way to the other side of the room, grabbing onto the slightly damp towels that Shikamaru and Sasuke probably used for their showers. I threw the towels onto the floor, instantly realizing that a couple of towels weren't going to clean up this ocean in front of me. My feet sloshed in the water while I tried to keep my balance and pick up the submerged towels at the same time.

"Nothing! Just stay out there!" Oh, because that didn't sound suspicious. Praying that his curiosity wasn't larger than his pride, I slid over to the sink and threw the wet towels into it, starting to wring out the water as fast as I could. Of course the damn towels were paper-thin and barely held anything worth wringing out. Feeling frustrated, I threw the towel across the room and instantly regretted it. My feet betrayed me, and quickly I met the wet floor with my face. Groaning weakly, I grabbed my shoulder and winced from the pain that erupted through my skin.

"You just fell, didn't you?" I glared through the pain at the door, flopping back into the water to alleviate the pressure on my shoulder.

"Shut up." He scoffed loud enough for me to hear through the door, and I barely had enough time to push up onto my ass before I heard the door open behind me. Glancing back at him, I absentmindedly rubbed my shoulder while watching his gaze travel along the water logged room. His eyes returned to me slowly, and a sour look furrowed his eyebrows. I blinked once in confusion when he dislodged our eye contact and looked lower. What the hell was his problem? The bastard looked like I had just accused him of making this mess or something. But before I could ask, he spoke.

"You flooded the bathroom?"

"No I decided I wanted a bath," I said sarcastically, growling as his smirk grew.

"And you planned to clean it with wet towels?" I looked to where the towel laid, looking more like a piece of paper someone had crumpled up and tossed away. He must have taken my rare silence as an invitation to continue talking. "You should put some clothes on before you try and clean this mess."

"Huh?" Glancing down, I flushed at the realization that I had haphazardly threw on my towel when trying to deal with the water leakage on the floor. I hesitantly glanced up to him, shocked to find his eyes glued to the floor next to me. I opened my mouth to yell at him about the unneeded guidance, but my voice welled in my throat when I made a surprising discovery. Was Sasuke…no, there was no way. I narrowed my eyes, turning to face him. The concentrated look did nothing to disprove the fact that Sasuke's pale face was unnaturally tinted with the faintest pink ever created. Determined to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me, I pushed my hands onto the wet floor to crawl toward him. Unfortunately, my body didn't quite forget the fall as well as I did, and I hissed at the unexpected pain that shot through my shoulder.

"Try hard to not be stupid." The only way I knew Sasuke had moved was the slight sloshing of the water, and even that only gave me time to lift my head before the scowling face of Sasuke appeared inches in front of mine. He balanced perfectly on the backs of his feet, which left his head dangling a few inches above mine. Still, the proximity of his pale skin to mine was enough to hitch my breathing for a second. If he noticed he didn't comment, focusing on gliding his agile fingers against the injured shoulder. I visibly shivered when my bare skin was caressed much more intimately that I expected. "You didn't break anything."

"Yeah…" Although I wouldn't mind smashing it into the floor again if Sasuke would continue to stroke over the bare skin. I knew he could feel my muscles rippling and tensing underneath his touch, but he didn't stop the quiet 'check-up'.

"It'll be bruised tonight." When did his voice get so low? I couldn't seem to keep my eyes from falling half mast when his mumbled words made it to my ears. "You'll need ice."

"I'm not weak or nothing." My voice and words contradicted themselves, and I silently forced oxygen to move through my lungs when his scoff sent a puff of warm air along the open expanse of my neck.

"Sure you're not, dobe." It was then I realized two extremely important things. Sasuke was now kneeling in front of me, his pants quickly sucking in any water that they could. Maybe I would have made a comment about that if not for the second fact. Sasuke's soaked jeans now pressed against the bottom of my thighs, lifting my legs off the ground so only my feet rested in the water. The towel was caked to my thighs from the water, but slid slightly when Sasuke's hips reclaimed the spot between my legs. It tilted my body and I quickly pressed one of my hands behind me to steady myself. Our eye contact never broke when he leaned over me, his lips barely ghosting mine. Weakly I swallowed and parted my mouth to breathe gently into his. Neither of us moved, waiting for someone to discover our intimate scene or somehow interrupt the heavy air between us. A few seconds seemed to be long enough for our brains to haze over and forget anything outside of the makeshift pool.

I should have fought against the possessive hold that Sasuke had against my mouth. After all, wasn't he the one that continued to remind me that 'nothing has changed' with us? And yet, the sweeping of his tongue against my lip showed just how much bullshit he'd been spewing. My arm quivered behind me while I pushed his tongue with mine to try and gain back some type of control. Not that I really could, since my legs were spread on his thighs and I was already way underdressed for this occasion. Maybe he was overdressed; my mind wasn't exactly in the position to think right. I hissed a weak moan when his hips shifted, rubbing the strained towel against my sensitive arousal. His lips pulled from mine slowly, leaving me room to question his sanity. Or I should have, except my mouth was left completely dry when Sasuke's curious lips travelled along the hollow of my neck. Yeah, talking started to seem less important. My free hand curled through his hair when a particularly sensitive spot behind my ear was sucked in-between his lips.

I barely had time to wonder exactly where he had learned about the spot before his tongue pushed into play, momentarily causing my spine to arch. The movement brought our hips hard into each other, and I was sure the friction there would wear through the flimsy towel. I panted heavily through my nose while his exploration continued to switch between nips, sucks, and occasional soothing from his tongue. I continually cursed and shoved closer to the questing mouth while trying to pull my scattered thoughts together. But as soon as I would start to grasp an idea, his lips or my squirming body would shoot the information straight into the ground.

It wasn't until my back met the ice cold floor that I realized how compliant I was being. I forced my almost cemented eyelids open, instantly disliking the superior smirk that hovered over my face. Well I was going to end that quickly. Using the hand in his hair, I jerked the bastard down and clumsily latched my mouth onto his neck. I wasn't as skilled or refined as Sasuke was, but I was a quick learner. Sasuke wasn't vocal, but his body was like a map to me. I could feel the pulse race between my lips when I gently ran the tip of my tongue again it. His uncontrollable breathing would quiver or hitch if I brushed his ear with my nose. But my favorite was when I finally pulled away from my handiwork to watch his glare framed by a warm blush just under his eyes. The marks against his neck were visible, and if it wasn't for the bruising I could practically feel forming from his sucking, I might have felt bad. I drew my gaze back up to his darkening eyes and sent him a lopsided grin.

This did not bode well for me.

"He-Hey! Stop that t-teme!" I yanked his hair when his mouth acquainted itself with my chest. I barely got another tug in before his hand pried mine away and left me immobile underneath him.

"Hn." Well that statement wasn't _completely_ true. I could squirm when he ghosted my skin and buck after an unexpected lick around my hardened nipple. He seemed to enjoy that response, because he continued to investigate the different arches and jerks my body would betray me with while examining the hardening flesh. My cock teasingly pressed against his stomach, making it impossible to ignore the pleasure I got from these stupid experiments that Sasuke deemed necessary in his head. My hair was soaked when I tilted it back at a quiet nip against my other nipple. Eyes that once seemed locked shut were now open and wide, my mouth following their path. Moans bubbled over my parted lips while he sunk lower on my body, keeping constant friction on my aching member. I thought my spine would snap when a confident lick against my bare hipbone sent my body into spasms.

"Fuck!" My hand jerked from his slacking hold to grab his shoulder. I needed to keep myself grounded. The touch made him lift his gaze to me, though I didn't notice until my body stopped thrumming with endorphins. Panting I looked down, growling when the pleasure I once had running through me turned into uncomfortable pressure. Why wasn't he moving? "What?"

"You want something." Well gee, what gave him that idea? The shivering in my body or the hard on that pressed against his chest? For a smart kid, his brain sure functioned shitty.

"Teme." I tried to make a warning growl, which turned into a pathetic whimper when his breath scorched my skin. My blunt nails dug into his shoulder, trying to silently push him to continue.

"Dobe." His hand sent my inner thigh's nerves into a frenzy when it slid along an uncharted path toward my cock. Momentarily I forgot how much of a bastard he was, which I was quickly reminded of after he swept around my center to the top of my towel. As if a consolation, his mouth brushed along the newly exposed skin of my left thigh when Sasuke undid my towel. His words quietly vibrated against the sensitive skin, almost blocking my ability to comprehend his voice. "Tell me you want to."

"Oh y-you've gotta be fucki—ah!" He didn't play fair. There had to be a rule against him knowing the weak spots of my body! Was there some kind of Naruto tutorial that I didn't know about yet? My breath sharply released from the slow mouthing against my thigh, quietly leading toward my central problem. Impatiently I lifted my hips, trying to make sure the asshole knew what I wanted. But for the first time in his life, Sasuke felt like talking.

"Tell me."

"W-why? You kn-know the a-answer!" I huffed out, trying to glare through the haze in my mind. Somehow I cleared my head enough to watch his dark gaze connect with mine. I was sure my confusion was apparent, but he didn't seem to care. Something strange flickered in his eyes, but it caught my breath anyways. The entire situation slammed into me harder than a freight train. Me and Sasuke were sprawled on the bathroom floor, both soaking wet and more aroused that I thought possible. The heavy breathing I never noticed now echoed in the room, Sasuke almost looking predatory as he lay perched over my hips. And yet despite the heavy air around us, the unknown look from before suddenly rang through my head. No wonder I couldn't make the connection before!

"Tell me you want to. If-" He paused in his own wording, and I could tell he wanted to look away. That Uchiha pride kept him from moving. "If you want this."

"I-I…" I paused and swallowed the panicking lump in my throat. "I want to." Then I nodded, to make sure he knew the truth behind my admission. Because Sasuke needed to know that he wasn't the only one who wanted this. Never before had Sasuke wanted something. He had money, girls, popularity, and anything else that most guys would kill for. And yet, by the curt nod he gave me before obliging his own wishes, I could tell how new it was to actually _need _something he wasn't sure he could have. The warm sensation in my stomach made the pleasure of his lips against my cock twice as good. I forgot to bite my lip as I groaned, trying to push my hips closer to his questing mouth. My legs bent around his head to try and encourage him closer. Warmth surrounded my arousal in a way that no fist could ever mirror. Not to mention it was Uchiha Sasuke's tongue sweeping against my tip. Why it mattered I wasn't sure, but I didn't want him to stop.

My hands slid against the wet floor as I tried to grasp onto reality. The sinful pleasure pulsing through my body had to be illegal. Gentle swipes along my sensitive slit had my body surging up in pleasure. I didn't even notice the feeling of his arm restraining my hips while he continued to tear me apart with bliss. Did he even realize what he was doing? I prayed quietly that he didn't, because it was too much power for his big head to take. My breathing was labored and I forced myself up onto shaking arms to watch the silent pleasure he was creating for me. Dark strands of hair swayed with the rocking of his mouth. One pale hand gripped my thigh, stroking the jerking muscles underneath the skin anytime a particular suck would shock me. Lips I had only been able to taste a couple of times now seemed content wrapping around the throbbing flesh they were now suckling. And stormy eyes lay half open, as if watching his own work on my body. The sight left my mouth dry.

"Hah…S-Sasuke…" I didn't know how to explain it without blushing, not that it could be seen under the redness from my arousal. His now lazy eyes travelled up my body to meet my gaze, as if waiting for me to speak again. When my lips failed to form words, he felt it would somehow help to languidly lick along my arousal. The motion only surged the oncoming orgasm closer to the edge. Feeling frustrated about my lack of words, I reached out and quickly pressed my palm against his forehead. "St-Stop teme! Stop I…I…"

He made some type of noise which I assumed was 'hn' before smacking my hand off of his forehead. The vibration against me momentarily stunned me, giving him time to lower his mouth back into his 'work'. I shouted something incoherent when his hands kept me still, leaving me unable to stop the onslaught of pleasure rushing straight to the edge. Surprisingly, it was a gentle suck against the tip that sent me careening over. I gasped his name in broken breaths while I jerked around, desperate to indulge in the whiteness that filled my gaze. He didn't let go of me, but gently helped milk my orgasm from my body. My body was shaking from the raw emotion I was left with when my high slowly winded down. Erratic heartbeats filled my ears when I finally realized I wasn't quite dead yet. My eyes parted to stare up at the dark brown ceiling, trying to gain control of my body again. But really, it didn't seem like I was going to be able to do that for a while.

My head slowly fell to the side when I heard the water from before shifting. Quietly I watched Sasuke move to the sink, confused about his actions until I heard the quiet gliding of his toothbrush against his teeth.

"Bastard…" He looked over to me before rolling his eyes in a natural Uchiha motion. Once he finished brushing my taste from his mouth, he turned to watch me wobbly stand up again.

"You eat too much ramen," he replied casually, as if somehow he didn't remember how he came to that conclusion. It almost made me lose my balance again. _That _was what he was most concerned about?! Not the fact he just gave me a blow job on the floor after all the crap he said last night?

"Teme!" But by now he had moved to the door, not bothering to spare me a glance while he opened it.

"Get dressed, we've got thirty minutes." He ordered me like a child before shutting the door behind him. I could feel the steam practically blowing through my ears while I silently thought of every way I could possibly kill him. And my anger only spiked when I realized one crucial detail.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this water…and how am I supposed to get dry?!" Make that two things. Two things that really never got answered. I spent the first fifteen minutes trying to air dry and praying that somehow, the water would evaporate while we were gone. I mean, it worked with lakes and crap to make rain. Why couldn't it work here? Once I finally did get clothes on, the bastard oh-so-conveniently showed me a mop and bucket next to the kitchen sink, which I spent that last fifteen minutes using to clean up the bathroom. I made it on the bus just in time to listen to Iruka lecture about my 'constant tardiness' and for everyone to ask what the heck I did to my marked neck. Sasuke, who just so happened to snag a black turtleneck shirt for the 'cold', seemed to also wonder how I was going to explain the marks. After a few mumbles, I came up with the excuse that I had left the window open and mosquitoes got their midnight snack from my neck. I wasn't really sure who believed it and who didn't. I could only hope for the later.

"Look at the boat!" Sakura's breath flew out in a puff of smoke while we stared at the large boat our group was getting onto. Because we were on the inland part of Italy, we had to take a boat to actually get to Venice. You could see the city from the docking area if you squinted your eyes a bit. Slowly I moved after the pink-haired girl onto the ship, almost stumbling from the rocking of the floor underneath me. Looking up, I saw the amused smile grow on Sakura's face. "You ever been on a boat before?"

"Of course I have! I'm just not used to it yet," I replied.

"Let's go to the top of the boat!" Apparently Ino didn't need time to adjust. I watched her pull Hinata toward the stairs, Kiba and Shikamaru trailing behind them. From the pale look—well, paler— look on Hinata's face, I was guessing she wasn't a fan of boats.

"You excited to go to Venice?" I shrugged and turned to look at Sakura again, both of us finding our way to the wooden benches that were bolted into the side of the boat. I watched the nosy lapping of water around the boat before speaking.

"I guess. It's pretty cold though."

"You should have worn a turtleneck." I glanced to her innocent smile, not trusting the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Like Sasuke, I mean. He probably got bit by those bugs as well."

"Yeah…we shared a room and stuff," I slowly answered. What else was I supposed to say? She watched me for a minute before laughing, probably at the embarrassed look I was presenting. I just hope everyone else passed the flush of my cheeks as a reaction to the cold.

"Those were pretty big mosquitoes you know. And I've never seen them go just after the neck." She knew. I groaned hit my head against the side of the boat.

"You say a word to anyone and I'm throwing you into the water." But my threat seemed to only amuse her more.

"So when did this happen? I thought you two were fighting?" The innocent question made me wince.

"Yeah, so did I." I looked out at the water after my grumble. The boat started to vibrate, signaling we were leaving for Venice. Pulling my coat closer to me, I breathed warmed air into my hands and rubbed them together to create heat. Quietly I looked around the boat, my gaze lingering on the conversation that Sasuke seemed to be having with Neji and Lee. It wasn't until his eyes glanced to mine that I realized I was staring. I looked up quickly, mentally scolding myself for even looking at him. But really, it was Sasuke. How could I just ignore him? Even when we hated each other, we couldn't seem to go two days without talking. I even went his house last month after he had caught the flu to make sure that he didn't croak on me. I reasoned it was because Sakura made me go, and someone needed to bring him schoolwork. And I was there already, so why not just make him some soup? I'd spend a few hours talking to him while I made sure he ate and rested. He'd never question why I stayed, and I never asked why he didn't complain about my presence.

I paused at the memory in shock. Shit. Just how long had I actually liked Sasuke? Now memories of our relationship flashed through my mind, exposing something I wasn't sure I was comfortable with. Two months ago I let him help me bandage up my ankle after an accident in gym. We spent most of Christmas vacation together. Neither of us bought gifts for the other, but we did celebrate New Year's at my house. Just like we spent thanksgiving, the only day I got to eat two dinners since Sasuke's parents offered to feed me again. Just like we spent Halloween handing out candy at my house and debating over the benefits and 'disadvantages' of the holiday. Just like…

How far back did this go? I swallowed weakly at the realization that maybe these 'feelings' didn't just started this week. Me and Sasuke consistently said we were not friends, but enemies. Well, at least I did. But really, who watches the fireworks on the Fourth of July with their true enemy? What kind of rival not only lets you into their house, but lets you raid their fridge and talk to their parents? And I had been hanging out at the Uchiha mansion for as long as I could remember. His mom was sweet and his father was pretty cool once you got past all the rough and gruff he hid behind. And it wasn't one sided either. My parents really enjoyed the bastard's quiet manner. Hell, my mom even said we balance each other out.

And now we were _this_. Not enemies, that's for sure. And I couldn't really recall ever getting sexual with any of my other friends. But we weren't going out or anything. Could we even get to that point? Not literally, because I had already admitted to being gay. But mentally, could we do it? Could we admit that we may be….be in…

"Kit!" My thoughts were shaken at the sharp cry from…outside the window? I blinked and looked out, laughing at the sight of Kiba hanging over the railing of the top deck and waving. I poked my head out the window, rolling my eyes.

"I'd say that I hope you fell off the boat, but you have the doggy paddle!" I shouted, smirking when he flipped me off. "Not on your best day, dog-breath."

"Like I'd ever let you near the goods! I'm too much for your rainbow ass to take." He laughed for about two seconds before Iruka appeared next to him, instantly starting to yell at him for hanging off the railing. I burst into laughter before falling back onto the bench next to Sakura.

"How close are we?"

"About five minutes." Wow, I'd been thinking way too much. I ignored the need to try and find the answers to all of my confusion by talking with Sakura, who seemed fine with chatting about the sinking city. Apparently, Shikamaru wasn't the only scholar on the trip. She spoke about how it was 'officially' created on March 25th, 421. It's barely got any crime, and there are about one hundred and fifty canals in the water-logged city. The city itself was built on over a hundred different islands, and was connected by four hundred bridges.

"Not to mention they hold a Mardi gras festival about this time of the year." I perked at the information while we moved off of the boat.

"Sweet!"

"It's not like the one back at home. Here it's known as _Carnevale di Venezia, _or 'The Carnival of Venice'." And our tour guide returned. Shikamaru looked at the cobblestone we stood on while he continued. "They are more into theatre and festivals than drinking and getting girls to take their shirts off. The tradition started in 1268, but was shut down for a few centuries thanks to the Austrians. It just started to be celebrated again in the area." As if on cue, a group of women dressed in festive clothing walked by us. Their dresses were large and flashy, while their faces were all covered by decorated masks. I waited until they moved out of earshot to speak.

"What the hell is with the masks?"

"Masks are just part of the tradition. Most just wear the _bauta _masks. They're masks that are made of _papier-mâché _that cover most or all of the face. They'll be selling them all over the city because of the festivities." At the end of his explanation Iruka called, pulling us in to explain to us when we had to be back at the meeting spot. Our group barely listened before we were off, moving through the flooded streets of people. And true to Shikamaru's word, several of the stores displayed the decorated masks for us to gaze at. While Sakura and Ino instantly fell in love with the porcelain look they portrayed, the masks spooked Hinata much more than the boat ride. Not that Kiba seemed to mind, because the scared girl practically glued herself to his arm when the other two girls decided to buy themselves matching pink and purple masks.

The day was cold, but not enough to ruin the lively mood that the town emitted. Every square was filled with characters dressed up or plays that were fun and eye-catching. The street performers seemed to simply enjoy the audience instead of the profit, which made the performances seem more realistic. We watched a few of them before something very important to the town caught Lee's eye.

"Look friends. The gondolas! Let's go for a ride!" Lee's excited pointing led us to the small line that was waiting outside a spread of narrow boats in one of the canals. Just like the movies, people stood at the end of the boats and rowed while travelling through the canals of Venice. I turned to ask Shikamaru about them, but I quickly realized the lazy guy was missing. Or rather, everyone was gone.

"Let's go Naruto!" Why couldn't one of them just warn me before they left me behind? I hurried after the group, hopping into the gondola with Sakura, Neji, Lee, and (of course) Sasuke. I watched while the other's boat passed by, already seeing the huge blush on Hinata and Kiba's face. I guessed it was from the closeness of the gondola, and how Kiba rested his arm on her shoulders. Ino seemed more comfortable than embarrassed about the quiet boy's arm around her waist, her head resting along his shoulder. I was so distracted by the two cute couples that I almost fell off the bench when our own gondola moved. I was quickly steadied by a hand on my back, and I looked up to watch the dark eyes look forward. I felt my cheeks bubble with a red hue, but I ignored it to straighten my body up again. I looked forward when I heard Lee start to talk.

"Isn't this beautiful? The gondola is the most romantic part of Italy, you know! Even though Verona is known for Romeo and Juliet, and Rome is the root for the word Romance, Venice is the true place for youthful love to blossom! They say that the city is lulled at night with the air of love." Lee threw his hands up before dropping them on Sakura and Neji's shoulders, pulling them both closer to him and sighing dramatically. "The beauty of the city of romance."

"Lee." But even as Neji tried to scold him, Lee only pulled his two captives closer to swoon over the city. I watched the city that revolved around the canals we moved through pass by. The houses and shops not only faced the canals, but most were right at the edge. Everything was quiet when Lee finally settled down, with muffled sounds from the festivities in the background.

It was very relaxing; almost enough for me to miss the soft pressed that still rested against the base of my spine. My eyes widened slightly at the feeling, causing me to glance from the corners of my eyes to Sasuke. His attention was drawn to the buildings around us, maybe to ignore the intimacy of the contact. Quietly I looked down to the bottom of the boat, wondering what to do next. Was I supposed to say something? Was I supposed to notice it at all? And if I wasn't, why did he keep his hand there? If I asked, I was sure he was going to come up with an excuse that would stop the gentle fluttering in my stomach. It took me a minute to realize that I didn't want the feeling to go away. I was sick of his justifications.

So instead I kept my mouth shut, taking a silent route instead. It took a few moments of convincing, but slowly I grabbed the hand on my back with mine. I tried not to look away when his head turned to face me, but after a few minutes of the quiet stare I found myself finding my attention needed elsewhere. So I stared at the water that passed by us, trying to think of pointless questions and insults in case he asked me what I was doing. I didn't really want to make a scene in front of the others, but I'd do it if I had to.

"Idiot." I closed my eyes and shivered at the gentle brushing of his lips against my ear. But they didn't stay closed for long, and soon I felt them shoot open when his fingers crept between mine. I looked up at the group in front of us, watching for any indication of them seeing us. When none looked back, I focused back on our hands. Hesitantly I tested the water with a swipe of my thumb against the pale skin, and jumped when he mirrored my action. He snorted and I glared at him, which he held for a few seconds. Somehow we both looked away, but our hands stayed entwined through the rest of the ride.

Neither of us spoke to each other once the ride was over. I was pulled down another alley way by Lee while Sasuke seemed to resume his conversation with Neji from earlier. Most of the second part of the day was spent watching the girls gawk at the beautiful shops in the city, or Shikamaru telling us the past of the intricate city. The sun slowly sunk in the sky, and the night crept up faster than normal as we returned to our meeting spot. Iruka and Kakashi led us through the city toward the restaurant while they explained to us how the rest of the night was going to go. We were leaving Venice after the late dinner, and would return to the hotel for two hours before packing our things and leaving for the plane home. The idea of going home was bittersweet. Sure the trip had completely worn me out, but I wasn't sure I was quite ready to go back home. I still had unanswered questions, and I was sure if I didn't find out the truth by the end of the night, they'd never be answered. That wasn't an option any longer. I wanted to know the truth.

"Why would they make a city on the water anyways?" Ino's question was asked over the table we all now sat at, patiently waiting for the pizza that we had ordered.

"Because they were trying to escape the invasion of Italy from the Lombards." Really, was there anything this kid didn't know? Shikamaru stirred the straw in his soda and sighed. "It was just a way for refugees to escape, and then it became useful later on in history. Hence Venice."

"It's amazing how they could just create a city out of nothing. They didn't even have any ground to help work," Sakura said, glancing around the room.

"When people need to be, they can be very inventive I guess. Like when me and Kiba made a slingshot out of two forks and a rubber band." At the memory Kiba smirked at me.

"Iruka practically ripped all of his hair out when he realized what we'd done."

"Sometimes I think you're going to be the death of him." Ino leaned on her arm, watching me scoff and roll my eyes.

"If anything, we keep him alive. Without us in his life, he'd die of his own boredom!" Me and Kiba high-fived, pulling back when the pizzas came to the table. We all exchanged our thanks before quickly digging into the last meal in Italy we would get. The somber thought reminded me of how close we were to leaving. It left a bitter taste in my mouth that I tried to wash away with a bite of pizza. Despite my attempt, the taste continued to come back. Soon it was paired with a pain in my heart that wouldn't be ignored. Slowly I stopped eating, lifting my head to watch the others talk about the events of the day and the way too early plane trip home. How come none of them felt like I did? Like a part of me was going to be left in Italy. Cautiously I turned to Sasuke, who silently ate his food. He didn't speak with Neji, despite the fact they sat next to each other. Did Sasuke feel like me? Like somehow, he wasn't finished here yet? Was he leaving something too? My heart stopped for a second as a completely unsettling thought came to me. It was enough to make me shoot out of my seat.

"Naruto? Is everything okay?" A worried green gaze watched me while I quickly recovered with a smile and a wave of my hand, trying to dissipate the concern.

"Fine! I'm fine. Just need to go grab some fresh air." I turned before they could question me further, moving out of the now overcrowded area and into a coldness night always brought. The sun was dormant, leaving half of the moon watch in the sky. I breathed deeply, ignoring the slight bite of the cold air in my lungs. I exhaled while walking toward the bridge we had crossed over earlier, trying to release the fear that had just taken over me. I tried to reason with myself about how normal it was for Sasuke to be quiet. He wasn't like me, he didn't need to talk. That was because he didn't really like deal with people. People annoyed him or gawked over him to the point that he had to glare and ignore them to get them to stop. Sasuke liked being alone. Sasuke didn't need anyone.

Sasuke didn't need _me_. It was the realization I had needed to get away from. What if Sasuke didn't see things changing because he didn't _want _them to? That when we got back home, we would somehow return to the way we used to be before we stepped foot into the boot country. A time where I wouldn't look at him without a glare or insult soon following. Did he really want that again? Was I supposed to want that too? I moved over to the side of the bridge, staring at the black water in front of me. I watched the silent waves, as if waiting for an answer to bubble to the surface.

"When did this get so screwed up?" I mumbled quietly. I didn't expect the response I got.

"If it involves you, it's bound to break or fall apart." I turned sharply, watching Sasuke slowly slide his hands into his coat pockets. He narrowed his gaze on me; as if it was my fault he followed me. "Especially if you throw Kiba into the equation."

"What do you want, teme?" I know I sounded defeated, and it threw him off. I could tell by the slight release of the glare that he had expected me to fight back.

"Sakura sent me after you." He always had a reason to follow me. I never had an excuse, I just did it.

"I don't need a babysitter. I'm just getting some air."

"You lie worse than you think."

"If you're just going to sit here and insult me, I do—"

"I'm not." We both paused after his short statement, not that I was in any rush to speak. He had the floor as far as I was concerned. Eventually he agreed with me and spoke. "I told you, Sakura sent me."

"That's the only reason you came? I didn't know you took orders from other people so easily." Maybe I was letting my anger get the better of me, but it was easier than dealing with the pain that bit at my stomach knowing he came by force.

"I didn't want to get in trouble for leaving you alone."

"Do you need a fucking excuse for everything you do?!" I shouted, stepping into his personal space. If he was anyone else, he would have stepped back from the sudden breach of his personal bubble. But Sasuke merely glared down at me, opening his mouth to say something else that would provoke my anger. Really I was sick of hearing him. "Every time you do something, you make up some stupid reasoning for why you did it. Why can't you just say you came out here because you were worried? Because you wanted to make sure I was okay or something? Not that Sakura _forced _you to get your pale ass out here!"

"Stop talking nonsense." But I was angry, and listening to him was the last thing I wanted to do. So instead, I pushed him back a step.

"Did _Sakura_ tell you to put my name down on that stupid test?" Another shove, and now I could see the irritation growing in him. "Did _Sakura _tell you to kiss me?"

"Enough." The irritation clipped the end of his statement despite his need to keep his composure.

"Did _Sakura _tell you to invite me into your bed? Huh?"

"Stop speaking." He didn't move quite as far this time that I shoved him. I didn't notice the resistance he suddenly put up.

"Did _Sakura _tell you to attack me in the god damn bathroom and give me a fucking blowjob?! Make up a damn excuse for that too. Or grow some balls and tell me why you really did it!" I moved to shove him again, but before I could blink I found myself pressed back against the side of the bridge with Sasuke's faces inches from mine. The shock stunned my anger, and shut me up long enough for him to stun me again.

"I did that because I love you dobe. And that's not an 'excuse' as you so eloquently repeated several times." I felt my heart stop in my chest, but he didn't give me time to catch my breath before he was speaking again. "I didn't _attack _you, because you wanted it. I asked you, I made sure I wasn't forcing my emotional weakness on you. You wanted me, too."

"Wait—" But my resistance was sealed away in a kiss while Sasuke pressed my body into the railing, easily sliding into my parted lips with his tongue. My hands gripped the railing as I stared up in shock at Sasuke, who had shut his eyes away from mine. If my body was responding to him I wasn't sure, because my mind was too wrapped in Sasuke's confession to think straight. Emotional weakness? Wanted him, _too_? Sasuke…_loved _me? This wasn't possible! He thought I was loud, annoying, bothersome, troubling, stupid, and everything that nobody would ever fall in love with! Yeah, maybe he liked me or something, but love? It had been a week! It didn't make sense in my head. A sudden panic filled my body, and gave me enough strength to push Sasuke away from me. We both stumbled a bit, leaving a few feet between us while we caught our breaths. I slid my hand over my mouth, deeming from the slightly excited state my body was in, that it _had _been reacting without my mind present. Really the two of them needed to get on the same page.

"Damnit teme! You-you can't just…what…" Fuck, what was I trying to say? I stared at Sasuke across the bridge, who now silently watched me try and piece together an actual sentence. But everything was going too fast for me to understand my own thoughts. Sasuke loved me. Sasuke loved _me._ I couldn't believe it. My head rejected the thought even if my heart was racing and my stomach felt ready to burst. I was so confused between my head and heart, my tongue decided to work before I realized what I was saying. "You can't just…_say _that and….and do that without even waiting for the other person to fucking respond! What if I don't love you back?!"

Suddenly, the air became much colder than before. His stance became ridged, as if just being whipped across the back. Hands at his side clenched and then released immediately. His mouth tightened into a scowl, his face instantly went into stoic Sasuke mode. But any sign of superiority or confidence in Sasuke's eyes drained away to the point that it hurt me to watch. The moment of silence felt suspended in time, and I would have killed myself to get away from it.

"Then you don't." He turned away from me, walking slowly back toward the restaurant. I stood silent while I watched him leave in slow motion, my lips frozen shut. Why wasn't I talking? Wasn't that what I wanted to hear? I should have been running to stop him. I should have been saying that I didn't hate him, or dislike him; just the opposite. All this time I wanted to hear some type of acknowledgement that maybe, somehow, Sasuke felt the same as me. But as soon as I got it, as soon as I heard what he said, I back-lashed with harsh statements. I said I didn't love him. I said everything my heart knew was a lie. My fear and anxiety and fucking _anger _had blinded me from the stabs of pain in my stomach during my response. And slowly the wounds trickled with pure regret while I watched him carry himself back to the restaurant with as much pride as he could fake. And I just…let him go. Like a coward.

When I returned a few minutes later, he didn't look up from his plate. Not once for the rest of the night did Sasuke make any sign of acknowledgment to me. It wasn't noticeable to anyone but us, because the table was filled with conversation and laughter. I tried to pay attention, but I couldn't stop glancing to Sasuke. Now he suddenly seemed very interested in talking with Neji again, or anyone that wasn't me. Why was he reacting like this? Why didn't he just scoff or glare or something that normally I hated? Why he did he have to stare at me like that before he had walked away? Like I had just ripped out his heart of something? I thought about the question the entire walk back to the boat, and finally came to my conclusion when I reached land again.

Maybe because Sasuke really did love me. And I had just destroyed any chance of returning the feelings.

…**Yeah…-scratches temple- well I'm guessing that threw you off, huh? You all thought Naruto was going to be the one who got his confession rejected! So Sasuke finally admits his feelings to Naruto. But now what's going to happen? How is Naruto going to fix this? Will he even be able to? How far will Naruto go to prove his true feelings for Sasuke? Will his fear of ending up alone ruin his chances? I guess you won't be able to find out until the last chapter! So while I make my escape, send a review and watch out for the finale of 'Italy, Here we Come!' =)**

**Chapter Ten: ****Come Home with Me!**


	10. Come Home with Me!

Hello everyone! Yes, it's the last chapter and I'm so sad, but happy that I managed to finish the story. So I won't make you wait too long. Just a note…

I said this in Therapy, but if you don't read that story: All of my reviews will be on my DeviantART webpage because I don't want to get banned. My name is **nabybluewings13**. If you can't get to it, just PM me! Now let's get going onto the story!

**Warning: ****Alright, if you've read anything of mine before, you should know that the last chapters are…'special'…-grins- boyxboy loving baby!**

**Disclaimer: ****-Why does it matter than I don't own Naruto? -sobs- MY LAST CHAPTER WHAAAAAAA!!! –clings to Sasuchan- I NEED TISSUES!**

**Come Home with Me!**

"Not to pry into your life, Naruto, but is there any reason that Sasuke would want to accompany Neji on the bus ride back to the hotel?" _Yeah, because I'm an idiot._ I decided not to give that reason while I looked over to Lee, who now sat in the seat that Sasuke had been occupying for the entire trip. Said guy was now across the aisle, sitting rigidly next to Neji. If the two were talking, they were doing it telepathically. Well, so much for my 'he needed to talk to him' excuse.

"Teme's just strange. Don't bother trying to figure him out, he's impossible to read." I faked a laugh and closed my eyes to hide the shame I knew would be there. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to my strange behavior. If they knew that both me and Sasuke were out of it, it wouldn't take long for them to realize that something had happened between us. It was a conversation I didn't want to get into.

"What'd ya do kit, try and make a move on him or something? And here I thought Sasuke would be the dominant one in a relationship." Yeah, right. Kiba's playful poke only made me sink lower in my seat, silently begging for the floor to open up and swallow me whole. It would probably feel better than my heart kicking my stomach with guilt every two minutes. I just wanted the bus ride to be over. I let my mind drift away from the conversation when Lee and Kiba started to talk about the plane ride home. Instead, I continued to repeat the bridge confession over in my head. There was so much that I wanted answered, but Sasuke seemed content with putting as much space between us as possible. It was why he changed seats. I settled for the promise of being alone with him back at our room. After all, we did share a room. We'd have to pack, right? What better time to talk then that? With that problem taken care of, I closed my eyes to think about what I wanted to actually talk about. Mainly Sasuke's admission. A few times I had questioned my sanity. Did I really hear Sasuke confess to me? Or was I just hearing things? From the broken look I had received before Sasuke had left, I knew my own answer. Of course I heard it; otherwise Sasuke would be in the damn seat next to me!

"Alright guys, can I have your attention up here? Wake up anyone around you that may have fallen asleep, because I want to make sure everyone hears me." I looked up at Iruka, who we could barely see through the darkened bus. I heard some kids waking up, while others simply waited for the teacher to talk again. "We've reached the hotel. Now remember, it's very late and many of the guests in the hotel are already asleep. Please be respectful and stay quiet while we go back to pack. You have one hour to get everything together, take showers, change, or get a quick rest in if you can. You cannot be late though. We're running very close, and we cannot miss out flight. Now go get all packed up."

Sasuke managed to get off of the bus before me, though I wasn't sure how. By the way he reached the door to our room in record time, I figured it was intentional. But that didn't stop me from moving after him. I almost ran into the door when it slammed shut in front of me, and quickly I growled. The bastard did it on purpose! And people said I had an anger problem. Sasuke just hid it better. I managed to push the door open again, making it to our room before Sasuke could leave it. He casually took a few steps back while I mentally cheered for cornering him.

"You shoved a door in my face!"

"Hn." He brushed my accusation off like dust on his shoulder while he moved to his suitcase, grabbing the already packed bags. I moved after him while he continued to ignore me, only making my blood boil. Just who did he think he was anyways?

"Forget that, that's not why I came in here. We've gotta talk about what just happened at-" My sentence was cut short by a cold glare that was sent over Sasuke's shoulder before he moved out of the door. I blinked once before realizing why he had moved deeper into the room. He knew I'd follow him, giving him the opportunity he needed to get out of the room. Damn him! I didn't waste time sliding out of the bedroom, watching the pain in the ass continue to walk toward Shikamaru's room. "Sasuke! Get back here you bastard!"

"Stop acting childish." It was the only thing Sasuke said before moving into the lazy genius' room. What, did he plan to ignore me for the rest of the trip home? Like hell I was going to let that happen! I would have gone straight into Shikamaru's room and dragged the moody bastard out, but an urgent knocking at the front door caught me off guard. Now what? I groaned, debating what I should do. Curiosity won out after the second pounding on the door, and I slowly made my way toward the knocking. The confrontation with Sasuke was reserved for another time. But it would be soon. _Very _soon.

"What?" I pulled the door open, blinking once at three sets of eyes that peered up at me. "Uh…if you're looking for your missing panties or something, I don't got em. Ask Kiba, he's the pervert."

"That's not why we're here!" The blond paused, as if finally hearing what I said. "And my pink pair did go missing…"

"Ino!" Sakura hissed at the daydreaming girl, snapping the focus back to staring at me. I had almost succeeded in shutting the door before two sets of hands shot out, practically knocking the door off of its hinges with the force they used. Now terrified of what a set of determined girls could do, I stepped out of their reach.

"Didn't you hear Iruka?! We're supposed to be quiet!"

"We could hear you screaming at Sasuke through the door." Ino gave me a 'cut the crap' look, which made me roll my eyes.

"You better have a reason to be here, because right now I've gotta got to get ready to pack my shit and go back home." At the mention of leaving, the last girl finally spoke.

"No Naruto-kun! We…we have a reason, we do! It's uh…well, it's…" I wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or unsure of what she was going to say next. Either way, Ino finished it for her.

"We're here to make sure you don't screw up again!"

"Huh?"

"Come on, we'll explain it to you inside." Sakura grabbed my wrist, pulling me through the kitchen and into the most convenient room. I ended up sitting on my bed while the girls stood in front of me, Ino locking the door behind her.

"Oh sure, the bathroom can't have a damn lock, but the bedrooms do. Now where's the logic in that? I can't sleep without protection but being naked is perfectly cool? Backwards people, all of em…" But none of them seemed quite as irritated at the discovery as me.

"We're not here about the locks. We're here about Sasuke." Ino said, placing her hands on her hips. Slowly I tilted my head at the stance that almost seemed ready for a fight. Just what were they planning?

"Well, he's not in here. He's with Shikamaru."

"That's probably for the better, since we're not exactly here for him." Sakura seemed much less hostile then Ino, for the moment anyways. Slowly she sat next to me on the bed, her teeth worrying her lower lip while she thought of what to say next. "We're here about you _and _Sasuke…as in, you two both…together."

"Oh." Suddenly, I agreed with Sakura. Having Sasuke in the room would have been more than awkward. But just because he wasn't present did not mean I was going to open like a book. Hell, I wasn't even sure we were all looking at the same novel here! So instead, I waved at the concerned looks. "Don't worry, we fight all the time. We'll be fine once he gets over himself."

"I told you he was just going to deny it." But despite Ino's annoyed tone, Sakura still smiled.

"You don't have to try and hide it Naruto. We've kind of figured it all out on our own."

"Figured what out? There's nothing to figure out!" I held onto my defense tightly, not ready to admit anything had changed between me and Sasuke. It was a battle I was bound to lose.

"He admitted he loved you, didn't he?" I flushed at the question Sakura asked me, suddenly not liking how accurate they were guessing.

"W-what?"

"It was practically written on Sasuke's face when he came back into the restaurant. Boys really aren't good at hiding emotions, even someone like Sasuke." I mulled over Ino's comment silently, not sure what to think. Did they really know what they were talking about, or were they making a stab in the dark? All of them were extremely intelligent, but only two would lie to get what they wanted. Slowly I turned my attention to Hinata, who now leaned quietly against the wall near the door.

"What do you think, Hinata? Do you really think the bastard would ever say something stupid like that?" The younger girl almost jumped at my attention, which made me smile. Even with dog breath in her life, Hinata was still pretty shy. We'd work on that when we got home.

"Well um…I…" She shocked me when she took a deep breath and nodded quickly. "I-I think he is in love with you!"

"And then for some stupid reason, you messed it all up!" I turned my attention back to Ino, sending her a quick glare before speaking.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that you denied your feelings for him instead of telling him the truth," Sakura replied.

"How do you even know that?" I shot up from the spot I was sitting in, needing to move around to calm myself. Or to keep from just blabbing the truth that they were slowly digging out of me.

"Naruto," Sakura's voice held a warning tone, showing that her patience was running thin. "You both came back at separate times."

"I needed more fresh air!"

"You wouldn't look at him the entire time."

"I don't need to be attached to the bastard's hip every day!"

"You both looked ready to cry!" Ino cut into the reasoning, shocking me enough to pause my pacing.

"He did too?" The words come too fast to stop, and I mentally cursed myself when Ino's satisfying smile came into view.

"I don't know if he did. I just said that so you'd admit that you went and screwed everything up. So now that we've got that out in the open, let's see how we can fix it." I stared at the tricky girls in front of me, who all now seemed focused on a problem that I never asked them to get involved in. But by the determined looks in their eyes, I knew I wasn't going to get out of this.

"Who said I made a mistake? What if I don't love him?" I still tried.

"Naruto, don't say that!" Sakura stared up at me while I quickly shook my head. It was the bridge scene all over again. My heart beat erratically and I could feel the heat radiating off of my cheeks. But the admission was buried deep in my stomach, and I wasn't going to let it out without a fight.

"Stop being so stubborn. Just go talk to Sasuke and tell him you're sorry. Tell him you didn't mean it an-"

"I never said I loved him!"

"Well…do you?" All three of us turned our attention to Hinata, who had remained quiet throughout the conversation. I watched her move closer to us, quiet but more confident in her timid questioning than I had ever seen her. "Do you love him?"

"I…" She was the first one to ask me how I felt. Everyone else assumed or accused me, giving me room to maneuver my way out of answering. Instead of giving a simple yes or no, I could deny that the answer they gave was right. But now that Hinata was giving me the choice of answering, I was stuck. "Why does it matter?"

"Because…if you love him, th-then you shouldn't hold back." Maybe it was how she said it, or the kind look she gave me. But somehow, she struck deeper with her simple reasoning than any demands from Ino or Sakura. The panic I felt before slowly started to calm, and I didn't feel the need to fight against her question. My body let go of the tension inside of my muscles, and I stared at her quietly for a few seconds. She didn't press me, but waited with a patient gaze and soft smile.

"I'm…not sure if he really loves me. I don't want to…if he doesn't really love me back." It was the best admission I could make.

"Of course he loves you Naruto, don't be silly. He said it, didn't he? Sasuke doesn't make mistakes when it comes to his heart." Sakura seemed to understand Hinata's gentle tone because she lowered her voice when she spoke.

"But what if he's just being stupid or something? I mean he…it's me and the teme. How could we even make this work? What if when we get home, it all changes? He might just walk away from this or something!"

"You're scared he'll leave you?" And just like that, Ino threw my fear out onto the floor. I stared at the wall above their heads, clenching my fists to keep from leaving the room. I didn't want to admit I was scared. I wanted to hide behind the idea of not knowing if I loved Sasuke or not. Because if I told them that the only reason I didn't return Sasuke's feelings was because I was scared of being left alone, I didn't know what they would do. Would the laugh? Or would they just scoff at me? Either choice wasn't something I looked forward to. "Naruto, its okay to be scared. But to let it rule your life is dumb. You can't let the fear of being alone stop you from being happy!"

"I didn't say it was jus—"

"Girls." A bored voice came through the door, cutting my sentence off. I glanced to the door, watching it swing open to reveal the lazy genius. I started to ask how he got the door unlocked, but Shikamaru held up a small key while he spoke. "Iruka just came by. He gave us our twenty minut warning, so you better let Naruto pack his stuff. I'm pretty sure Iruka will leave him here if he's late again."

"Thanks Shika," Ino replied, sending him a smile before turning to face me again. I jumped when she cupped both of my cheeks in her hands, sending me a focused look. "Don't let what you think may happen stop you from what you know will."

I watched the girls move past Shikamaru and to the door, leaving our apartment quietly. If Shikamaru had heard any of our conversation he didn't say, simply sighing and walking away from the empty room I stood in. It took me a few minutes to finally push myself to mindlessly shove my clothes and accessories into the suitcase it had once fit in comfortably. After a few tries, I finally squished everything together tight enough to close the suitcase. Throughout the packing I couldn't shake what the girls had said to me. Hinata's simple reasoning, Sakura's reassurance, and Ino's final words continued to play in my head. Mixed with my own thoughts, my entire brain was focused on the problem known as Sasuke. Several times I felt myself coming to a decision. Sometimes it would be to forget everything in Italy, while other times, reason convinced me to tell Sasuke how I felt. No matter the decision, my other thoughts would immediately drag me back into the middle with insecurity and promise of failure if I went down that path. It was almost enough to make me miss the bus on purpose just to hide from either choice.

But somehow, my body was able to get me to the side of the bus. I pushed my luggage into the side compartment of the bus before making my way up the small steps for one final time. The sadness of leaving finally singed the sides of my heart, reminding me of everything I was leaving behind. Even though I was tired and more than ready to make it back into my own bed, Italy had been a blast. I had never felt so free and small and….alive. From the first step into Rome until the last hop off the bus from Venice, I had changed. I had not only learned more in one week than I had all year, but I had found myself. I figured out things about myself that I probably would have never discovered unless I had come here. I knew that some of these things would be tested and analyzed when I went back home, but I didn't mind. I already got weird looks from most of the school, so what was a little more publicity? As if I saw it as a mental challenge, I smirked into my reflection from the bus window.

Lee sat next to me again, though I didn't mind. This time, it was probably for the best. With everything that had been racing through my mind, I needed time to figure out just what I was going to say to Sasuke. So I chatted with Lee a bit before I rested my forehead against the window and tried to sleep. But all I could remember was how warm Sasuke's shoulder had been when I fallen asleep against him during the trip home from Pompeii. It was enough to keep myself awake throughout the two hour drive to the airport. Why we had to take such an early flight I didn't understand, but it was probably cheaper than the day flights. And with as many kids as we had, it was probably easier to keep us together on red-eye flights.

Either way, it didn't make my energy stay with me for long. I dragged myself into the airport, practically dropping my deadweight into the first chair I found. Sakura, seeing how worn out I was, let me borrow her shoulder to sleep on. And yet despite how much my body was begging for just a few minutes of sleep, I couldn't manage to get comfortable. How was it that Sasuke made me sleep without even trying? Sakura was slightly shorter, which made her much cozier than the bony asshole. And yet, despite her warmth and height advantage, I couldn't sleep. My eyes stayed half mast, and I watched as Kakashi and Iruka moved toward the information center with…

"Is that the puppy I saved?" I wasn't sure if Sakura would understand what I was saying, but I seemed to get my point across when I pointed over to our teachers.

"It is. Kakashi must have gotten attached to it." Figures. I nearly get run over because of the flea bag, and Kakashi decided to keep it as a pet. And dragging Iruka into the complications of getting an animal onto the plane? He was acting like it was both of theirs! I would have scoffed, but I was too tired. Despite my ability to sleep, the half dazed state my mind was in made time fly by much faster than before. Without knowing it, the time to board the plane came to our attention. The entire group seemed to lag while we shuffled our way onto the plane, which was basically deserted except for our school. It shouldn't have mattered where we sat, but Iruka made sure that we were all in the right seats. Not that I really could complain, since I got the window seat. Lee sat in the aisle seat of our row, and Neji sat in-between us. Having the older Hyuuga there almost made me want to ask him if Sasuke had said anything to him on the bus rides, but I held my tongue back. Even if Sasuke had spoken to him about something, I doubted that Neji would go against Sasuke to tell me what he said. So instead, I stared out at the black sky while the pilot made his way to the runway.

After what seemed like forever, we lifted from Italy. I couldn't ignore the sadness I felt watching the boot country slowly disappear from underneath us while we made our quick trip to Germany. Just like we had to do on our way to Italy, we landed in Berlin to switch planes. The waiting time was much shorter, and we didn't even have time to sit down before we were being ushered onto the larger international plane. Just as before I sat with Lee and Neji, but the positioning of the two was switched. Even if I wasn't completely awake or cheerful as Lee, it was refreshing to have his energy around me. And with his constant exclamations about youth and love, I couldn't help but think about Sasuke again.

"Lee, what do you think about love?" I could almost see the shock on Neji's face as he turned to face our conversation for the first time since the plane trip started three hours ago. Lee showed no such shock, but only seemed to be excited to answer.

"Love is a beautiful connection between two or more things! People, animals, hobbies, it doesn't matter. When you are in love, your heart swells and you are able to reach any goal! It makes you the strongest person alive, and you're able to change the world if you need to. That's love, my youthful friend. And to be in love is the greatest gift in the world."

"Yeah but…don't you think it'd be scary?" I asked, trying to sound casual. But I could tell that Neji could see through my act with the knowing look he sent over Lee's shoulder. Still, he remained quiet while Lee nodded.

"Of course it would! Love wouldn't be love without fear." Now I was confused.

"Didn't you just say love was the greatest gift in the world? What's so great about being scared?"

"Because of the feeling you get when you receive it. It's hard to love someone, because you're extremely unsure of how that person will react to you. But one should never give up on that feeling of love, even if there's a chance of failure. After all, love isn't something simple or given without sacrifice. It's the chance of failing that makes the end result worth it. And that result is wonderful love!" Without knowing it, Lee had jolted something from my memory. Something that I should have realized so much sooner.

"_Atychiphobia...You idiot. It's the fear of failing." _

The thought made me fall back against my seat in shock. Sasuke was afraid of failing, just like I was afraid of being alone. And yet he had somehow pushed himself past his own phobia in order to tell me what he really felt. He had thrown himself out of his comfort zone, and told me something he didn't have control over. I was like art to him. He couldn't predict what I was going to do. He didn't know if what he said or did would get the response he wanted, or if it would flunk. This wasn't some sick joke, or a simple infatuation he thought would disappear once he got back home. By admitting he loved me first, he had given me the power to accept or reject him in a way I was sure he had never done before.

And like a _moron,_ I had missed that. I had let my own insecurity eat away my real feelings and misunderstood everything it had taken Sasuke to admit the truth. I must have been the biggest idiot in the world to mess up something like that. No wonder he was avoiding me! What else would he do when he had gotten his biggest fear smacked right back in his face by a blonde headed bimbo? I had to fix this. And fast. Any thoughts of forgetting the admission flew straight through the plane window as I casted a glance a few seats in front of us, watching the silent artist draw. His headphones were on, signaling he was tuned out from the world. Mentally I cursed, realizing I'd have to wait until the plane got back to America to tell him. And I would tell him, even if he didn't want to listen. I looked up at the path tracker in front of the plane, groaning when I realized we still have several hours to go until we got back home.

I fidgeted in my seat, continuously looking over to Sasuke before back to the tracker. Really, it made time seem to go much slower than ever before. I tried to think of what I was going to say, but everything sounded too planned or bland. After a few weak attempts, I decided I was going to wing it. Nothing better than the unplanned, right? Well, unless it was a kid. That was never a good thing. Gah I got weird thoughts when I was antsy.

So I was beyond excited when I heard the announcement of our landing, and almost jumped out of my seat when the plane finally hit the runway. The sudden jerking nearly cut off the circulation to my legs from the seatbelt, which I had forgotten to unbuckle in my haste to get off of the plane. I wrestled with the devilish contraption for a few seconds, letting out a triumphant cry when I finally got the clasp to release. I jerked my head up to see if Sasuke had gotten off the plane yet, and spewed a string of curses when my head smashed into the carry-on compartment above the seats. Several people gasped or glared at my colorful language, but I didn't care. The throbbing in my head slowly died down, and I managed to pull out my backpack from above me while I followed Neji and Lee off of the plane. My eyes continued to dart around, my heart skipping a beat when I finally caught sight of a black duck butt moving through the passage toward the airport. He was pretty far in front of me, but that could be fixed with a quickening of my pace. What started as a casual walk soon turned into a jog while I tried to locate the pale bastard again. The energy that I had thought was depleted was quickly rising while I pushed into the main part of the airport.

I took a moment to let my ears get use to the loudness of the airport before returning to my task. I swore under my breath when I realized the bastard had (unintentionally or not, I wasn't sure) put more distance between us. Remembering Iruka's blurry instructions on the way to the plane, I knew Sasuke was heading toward the bus with the rest of the group. If he got there, I'd never get the chance to get him alone. People would want to talk to him, or me, or take pictures of the group when we got back to the school. And somehow, Sasuke would find a way to slip out of the crowd and into his car without a moment's notice. So I came up with a simple plan while I sprinted through the airport and directly toward the unsuspecting teme.

Do not let Sasuke get on that bus.

"Sasuke!" Maybe the lack of sleep was making me lose my mind. It didn't really matter in the end. Sasuke only had time to turn toward my sharp shout before we were both flying to the floor. My tackle had left me with the advantage of laying over him, which I made sure didn't change during our meeting with the floor. We finally stopped moving, and both of us had to take a moment to get our minds working again. But as soon as Sasuke grasped onto why people were staring at us, I received a deadly glare.

"What are you doing, dobe?" An insult never sounded so good before. Had Sasuke's voice always sent a shiver down my back? I shook my head slightly, trying to think of a good answer for his question. But when I couldn't think of anything, I gave him a hesitant smile.

"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I'm just kind of….ya know, going with what feels right."

"Knocking me down in the middle of an airport 'feels right'?" I stared down at him, ignoring the glare and the scowl to try and see any sort of disgust or hatred for me. I could handle anger. Hell, I knew me and Sasuke would never truly get along. But I needed to make sure that I wasn't the only one who was feeling the rush that flowed through my veins with being this close to Sasuke. My body buzzed with positive recognition of his body, and my heart was practically doing back flips with my bold actions. Sure my head was going a little crazy with how public I was being, but who really listens to their mind in the game of love?

"No. But…damnit, how do I say this…hold on."

"Like I can go anywhere," He answered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. I ignored it to focus on what I was saying.

"Being here with you feels right. It doesn't really matter where it is. Italy or home or on some weird airport floor, it doesn't bother me. Just…we should be together for it." If he noticed the weakening of his glare, he didn't announce it.

"You're rambling."

"I want this to be right, damnit! Stop messing it up and just shut up." He scoffed at my growl, easily ruining the moment.

"You've already ruined that with your rambling, dobe." He wasn't understanding me. Didn't he get what I was trying to tell him? I felt panic seize me again when Sasuke tried to sit up, ignoring what I was saying. I fell back into his lap when he sat straight, sending me a reprimanding look. "The bus-"

"I'm scared too teme!" I caught him off guard, the same way he had the night before. And I knew that the only way I was going to get through to him what I meant was the same way I did everything in life. Keep at it until something right comes out. "I said something stupid last night, I know that. I acted like…like I didn't like you in the same way you liked me. But I didn't mean it. I…it's just-I don't want to be alone. I don't want you to leave, because then I'm alone and you're not there and…and damn I'm not really sure if I'm making sense but it's all so easy to understand in my head. You know my mouth-brain relationship is complete shit. So why am I using it? I shouldn't be, huh? Screw it then!"

I grabbed his face faster than he could blink, which worked in my case. Lips weren't just nifty in talking, you know. If I was embarrassed yet, I couldn't tell. My focus was on the soft lips that I was kissing, my thumbs stroking the pale cheeks that were starting to warm under my hands. Trying to punctuate my muddled rambling, I pressed my tongue against his lower lip and licked it for entrance. For a minute I thought his lips tightened, denying me access. But that fear was quickly dispelled when warmth moved against my tongue, and slender digits moved into my hair to keep me from jerking away. Apparently, Sasuke didn't want to be interrupted. His mouth was warm and tasted almost sweet, blending nicely with Sasuke's unique taste. It had my tongue searching for more.

The kiss fest could have gone on much longer if not for the fact that someone's bag smacked into the back of my head. I pulled away with a hiss, looking up to realize that the woman didn't even seem to notice the two of us sitting on the floor. In fact, I glanced around to see that only a couple of people were watching. Jesus, you would think two teenage boys making out on the floor would attract more popularity. But everyone was so wrapped up in their own plane tickets and boarding times, they didn't even watch where they were walking! I scoffed and turned my head back to Sasuke, our foreheads brushing slightly from the proximity of our lips. I held his strong gaze for a few seconds before I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against his.

"I'm not sure we'll work…fuck, I'm pretty sure we'll be even more dysfunctional now than before. You're still an ass and I'm pretty sure I'll always be stupid. But I wanna try this or something. I wanna try because I don't wanna be alone anymore and I…I don't want to be your first failure." I waited for him to respond while I panted quietly against his mouth. Feeling oddly out of place, I pressed my forehead closer to his to try and edge him into an answer. Even a yes or no would work. But he didn't speak, making me mumble, "So…so what do you think?"

"I'm waiting for a proper response. Three words, particularly, would suffice." That cocky bastard! I growled and glared up at him, my anger growing when he smirked to me. I tried to hit him, but he easily caught my fist and pulled me into a quick kiss. Despite the shortness of the lip lock, I took a minute to come back to earth. He was still smirking, and I was still pissed, but I didn't try to hit him again when he leaned closer to me. His words were quiet, embarrassing, and released the coil of anxiety in my stomach. "Next time, skip the speech dobe."

"No way. They work, don't they?" I grinned up at his eye roll, but he didn't get the chance to answer before a roar of applause came from behind me. I blinked once before turning my head, quickly scrambling out of Sasuke's lap when I realized the others were now whistling and cheering for us. My face easily lit up at the attention, though Sasuke seemed completely unaffected by their catcalls.

"We knew you could do it Naruto!" I tried to laugh off my blush at Ino's thumbs up, but it easily came back when an unexpected voice entered the conversation.

"Well, it's no wonder why Tsunade calls you the number one student at surprising people. Attacking Sasuke in the middle of an airport…wasn't expecting that." I choked on air as I stared at the silver haired teacher in front of me before throwing a shaky finger at him.

"W-What the hell are you doing here?! Yo-you're supposed to be with the others!" He smiled and tilted his head as if I wasn't shouting at him.

"Well someone had to make sure you two lovebirds got to the bus. Now hurry up, we don't want Iruka to worry about you. Come along kids, nothing else to see here." And with that, he ushered the others toward the bus. My mouth must have hit the floor at the casual tone he took with me, and if not for Sasuke yanking me to stand up, I would have sat in the middle of that airport for the rest of the day. It was only after Sasuke started to pull me toward the bus did I snap back to reality. And maybe I should have been happy with Sasuke holding my hand. Or maybe with the fact that somehow, me and Sasuke had made up. But really, I only had one thing on my mind.

"THAT DAMN PERVERT SHOULD NOT BE A TEACHER!"

~**~

"Damn pervert…shouldn't be a damn teacher...and what does algebra equations have to do with the revolutionary war?!" I smacked my head against the desk, both my history and math book sitting in front of me. Leave it to the copy teacher to copy from the _wrong _subject, and then try to apply it to our history class. I lifted my head weakly to stare at the problem, which barely made sense. "If twenty American soldiers went to battle against fifty British, and the Americans came out with twice as many soldiers as the British with forty percent of their soldiers still living, how many of the British soldiers got away? I bet he doesn't even know the answer to this!"

"Four." I jerked my head back to see Sasuke casually pushing my door open while he moved into my room. I blinked once in confusion while he rolled his eyes and sighed, moving to my bed to lay something thin and flat on it. I tried to see what he had brought, but he stood in front of it. "Forty percent of twenty is eight, and half of that is four. It's not hard, stupid."

"I'm not stupid! And who the hell said you could come in here anyways?"

"Your mom said to come up." Of course mom did. She thought Sasuke was just the cutest thing she'd ever seen. He could rob a bank and she'd think it was cute. Her and half of the school. But what her and almost the entire school thought was even 'cuter' was me with the bastard. Somehow the make-out in the airport two weeks ago went through the school fast, resulting in our 'unofficial dating' status. It was unofficial because Sasuke was too stubborn to ask me out and I wasn't going to give in first. And no, that doesn't mean I'm stubborn either! Besides, he probably wouldn't say yes anyways.

"I didn't even invite you over." He looked at me for a minute before scoffing and looking out the window.

"Sakura told me to come over." An excuse, like normal. I sent him a glare, which he returned for a few heavy moments of silence before he spoke again. "And I didn't think you'd want to be late. So I offered to come and make sure you got the party."

"Meaning you wanted to come see me." I grinned for a second before he rolled his eyes and turned his back toward me, walking to my bed.

"I assure you, I see too much of you as it is."

"Hey!"

"Come here." I huffed at the command and shook my head.

"Why should I?"

"Because I want you to, dobe." I growled at the age-old insult. The only reason I walked over was because the mystery object on the bed was gnawing at my curiosity. So I moved, standing in front of him and crossing my arms to show I came over on my own accord, and not because he told me to.

"Teme, this better be good," I said. I lost my irritation when I saw Sasuke's weird behavior. He wasn't looking at me, for once. Several times his fingers had grabbed the black covering that rested over the object of my current interest, but he hadn't pulled it off yet. He sat poised and regal like always, but his other hand clenched and unclenched next to his side. It was almost like he was…"Hey, are you nervous or something?"

"No." He shot me a glare that paled in comparison to his normal look. I stared in shock at the discovery I had just made. Sasuke was really nervous about showing me whatever he had brought over. I tried to think of something to say to make him shake off the nerves, but I knew he wouldn't listen to reason. Well, maybe he would, but I didn't feel like wasting the time. So instead, I gave him a mischievous grin and grabbed his hand, trapping the cloth between his fingers. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you out. That cloth ain't going to move itself, you know." I tugged slightly for emphasis, watching the top corner of the flat surface slowly reveal itself. I blinked once at the bright colors I saw before looking up at Sasuke, who seemed to grow more uncomfortable with each inch of exposure. "Sasuke?"

"Hn." His grip tightened under mine, and after a few seconds of silence, Sasuke pulled the sheet off of the brightly colored canvas. My eyes widened as I stared at the painted collage in front of me. I recognized every part as more than just Italian scenery. The painted sunset over the city of Rome was the first time Sasuke had admitted to not hating me. The scenery of Assisi was where we first kissed. The dark alleyway of Florence was the first time either of use showed weakness. The Venice Bridge and the airport…the awkward admissions of love. Our entire relationship was now displayed for anyone to see, and yet only we would know it. Slowly I tore my gaze away from the intricate work to look up at Sasuke, trying to think of something to say. I must have looked like a blubbering fish, because Sasuke spoke. "The art teacher wants me to enter into a contest."

"You showed someone else?"

"Yes." I couldn't help but gape at him. How did he manage to face his fears so easily? For a minute, I almost thought he had almost made up the entire thing just to make me shut up in Florence. But by how hard it still was for him to show his art to me, I could tell he was still struggling.

"What…kind of contest?" I asked slowly, watching him cover the canvas again before sitting it against the wall.

"If I win, I'll win money to put toward my art schooling. Not that I need it, I suppose."

"Art school? You mean…you're actually going to do it?!"

"Why not? You said it yourself, I'm Uchiha Sasuke." It was the first time I had heard confidence in his voice when he spoke about his art. He sent me a casual look, and I swore I saw a smile quirk his lips. "I'll make it work."

"Cocky bastard…" I blushed through my grumble, which only grew when he smirked and pulled me into a kiss. I relaxed against the quiet kiss, because it was rare that we weren't fighting over something stupid. It had become more frequent during the past two weeks, but still very uncommon. He didn't bother for an invitation to invade my parted lips, and I quietly moaned at the sensual touch of his tongue against mine. He had my skin tingling when he captured my tongue between his lips, barely sucking the muscle before diving into another heavy kiss. Breathing became a concern just under cementing my mouth to his.

Eventually he pulled back from the kiss, and I tilted my head back on my bed to allow him access to my neck. I barely kept my eyes open, and wondered for a fleeting moment how Sasuke maneuvered us to lay on the bed. But when demanding lips sucked against my pulse, all thought stopped. I moaned at the hot fire that was running through my veins from the sensual touches of his lips against the hollow of my neck. My hands grabbed his shoulders, and my grip only tightened at the quiet nip against my collar bone. I rolled my eyes at the silent command, but lifted my arms when he yanked my shirt over my head. I returned the favor by sliding my fingers under his shirt, using the back of my hands to lift the material while I dragged my fingertips against the newly exposed skin. When he shivered I grinned, which received a silent glare before another attack against my mouth.

We fell back on the bed, half naked and aroused. His palms burned my abs while I focused my attention on sucking the spot just behind his ear, my smile growing when I felt his breath hitch. His hands grabbed my hips while I leisurely licked the sensitive spot, pulling back slightly to enjoy the pink tone that would eventually bruise into a hickey. I turned my head to him, running my fingers tips along his spine to feel his body straighten then shudder. My mouth leaned forward to kiss his neck again, but he pushed me back to lie completely against the bed, his body quickly following. It was only when he pressed his hips closer to mine did I realize the affect of my prolonged teasing. The hardened flesh pressing into my own cause me to hiss and press up quickly to rub against him. His heavy breathing scorched the side of my neck while he continued to nip at my pulse. I tried to keep my eyes open, but the heavy pleasure infiltrating my body was too much for my eyelids to hold, and I found my sight engulfed in darkness. I nearly whimpered when Sasuke stopped his hips from rocking into mine, pulling them up to avoid any accidental movements.

"Enough," He mumbled against my neck, and mentally I groaned. My body was awake, alert, and not ready to let go of the pleasurable feelings just yet. I gripped at the back of his shoulders, forcing my eyes to open and look up at him. By the flushed features and heavy breathing, Sasuke's body was on the same page as mine.

"What now?" I asked, watching him glance to my clock.

"Sakura's party." Damnit, that was starting soon. Why was the world against me? For two straight weeks, we hadn't gotten past dry humping. Though I thoroughly enjoyed making out with the bastard, something always stopped us from getting any father than that. School, work, friends, and one time the damn fire alarm went off in his house and his 'state of the art' water system completely soaked us on our way out. And Sakura's party was the last straw. I was not going to take another cold shower!

"We'll go late."

"We can't idi—" But his sentence was cut short when I decided the best way to convince the Uchiha was to get him overly aroused. I mean, it worked for me. So I didn't waste time sliding my hands along his skin while I kissed him, muffling a cheer of success into his mouth when my fingers brushed over his zipper. My hand quickly worked on undoing his jeans while I snaked my other hand around his neck, pulling him closer to my overheating body. I could tell I had reached my goal when my fingers skimmed over his boxers, his cock jumping from the wanted contact. He broke the kiss, whether to catch his breath of yell at me I wasn't sure. But I didn't give him time to even think before I pushed him onto his back, cupping his through his boxers while my mouth latched onto his nipple. The gentle arch in his back showed the pleasured surprise I invoked, and it unconsciously urged me to rub my hand against the hardened skin while my tongue played with the stiffening bud. If Sasuke had wanted me to stop before, he wasn't showing it now. Instead, his hands were pressed against my back, making my chest brush against his stomach. I moaned against his nipple when my own was scraped against his skin, sending a jolt of pleasure straight down my spine. I dragged my mouth over to accommodate the twin while both hands hurried to push off his jeans and boxers. The plan was heading toward success until the clothes got snagged on the shoes Sasuke hadn't bothered to take off. Growling in frustration, I bit his nipple in undeserved punishment before I pulled away, yanking his shoes and the rest of his clothes off. By the time I managed to relive him of his clothes he was on the move, shoving me onto my stomach.

"What the fuck!" I glared back at him, but the insult I was going to throw out turned into a groan when he pressed against me, his hands easily sinking into my loose jeans. I jerked my hips back a bit, trying to keep the inevitable from happening. The bastard always had to be in control, even when I was the one who started the whole thing. My fingertips dug into my palms when a cold hand caught my pulsing member, the contrast of temperatures making me hiss. I could feel his chest pressing against my back, and I tried to push him off so I could continue with what I was doing. But the movement only helped his hand create torture against my body, my arms shaking in need. Mentally I chastised myself for enjoying the touch, especially when I was underneath him. I was supposed to top, not him! But it seemed he had other plans when he huffed a command into my ear.

"Lube, dobe." I paused in my squirming for a second, giving him the time to jerk down the rest of my clothes. I almost fell when he yanked my knee up, pulling my leg through my pant leg.

"Jesus hold on! What's your rush?" He glared up at me when I shook out of the other side of my jeans, and pressed his reason for rushing against my ass. The lust made obvious in his eyes flushed my cheeks, and I turned my head back forward to hide it. "My nightstand drawer."

"Typical."

"Typical," I mocked, lowering my voice to imitate him. He didn't seem to find it funny, which I realized by the harsh shove on my back. My face fell into the bed faster than I had time to protest. It didn't stop me from glaring up at him. A glare that quickly turned to panic when I felt something cold and slippery brush against my ass. "Whoa!"

"What?" Quickly I turned, planting my ass onto the bed and shaking my hands in front of me.

"Just where were you putting that thing?!" Sasuke arched his eyebrow when I pointed to one of the three lube-covered fingers in front of me.

"Where do you think?" I didn't want to say where I thought. Really, I didn't have to, because Sasuke decided that this position was just as easy to get the job done in. I shouted when I was hoisted up, reminded me of the bathroom debacle a few weeks back. Well, reminded me up until the point when Sasuke slid his first finger inside of me. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable. And I made sure he knew that when I glared up at him, using my hands to hold my upper body up.

"You're an ass."

"Actually-" I hissed as a second finger squirmed its painful way into my body. I closed one eye while Sasuke leaned over me, nipping at my lower lip and smirking. "You're the ass in this case."

"Te-Teme—fuck!" He took the moment to spread his fingers inside of me while capturing my sensitive earlobe in his mouth. The gentle licking of the bundle of nerves almost overrode the pain, despite his constant probing. Between the pleasure and pain, my mouth couldn't keep shut if my life depended on it. My body trembled, and jerked when another finger was mixed into the situation. This wasn't fair; wasn't I the one who suggested this? Shouldn't I get the right to top?! According to Sasuke and his trio of pain makers, no. I was about to shout at the bastard to remove his digits or get them chopped off, but something strange stopped me. No, strange wasn't the word. Eye widening, body tensing, amazingly _good _hit me. I yelped and arched off the bed, completely confused and wanting more.

"Too easy." I heard him mumble against my ear while he continued to touch whatever kept erupting inside of me. My heels dug into the bed and I had to bite my lip to stop from crying out at the strokes against the button of bliss inside of me. I shook from the feeling, and it almost felt too good. He didn't relent in his thrusting, sadistically enjoying how my toes curled while I gasped for air. He had to stop before I tore apart at the seams. But any time I tried to voice my command, another hit inside of my sent my voice crawling out at as groan instead of a demand. I couldn't even keep my eyes open!

"N-Nya….s-stop!" He did, but not until he got another three thrusts in. By then I was a panting mess underneath him, trying to collect any type of control of my hormones. But it seemed impossible to focus on anything but the need that was collecting in the pit of my stomach.

"Ready?" What the hell kind of question was that? I couldn't voice my thoughts, so I simply nodded and gritted my teeth when he rubbed the spot with the tips of his fingers. "Sure?"

"Sad..Sadistic ba-bastard!" I huffed and managed to flutter my eyes open long enough to glare at him and form a three worded sentence. "Hurry up…te-teme."

"What's the rush?" I hated him. And if not for the fact that I didn't want to jerk myself off, Sasuke would be dead. Instead, I dug my nails into his shoulders when he finally pressed his tip against me. He glared and I somehow mustered enough strength to smirk.

"Eye for an eye."

"Hn." And I soon regretted my words when Sasuke pressed quickly into my body. He stopped short of that spot; to make sure I knew who was 'in control' I'm sure. I breathed through my nose, because if I opened my mouth I would have whined. And Uzumaki Naruto does not whine. So I swallowed my medicine, clenching onto his shoulders tightly to ignore the stretching of my body. But it was hard. _Really _hard. "You ready?"

"Shut up." He was probably trying to be nice after being such a dick, but I didn't care. The fact he was enjoying my pain made me snappy. He seemed to realize the predicament, because I felt him shift forward enough to press against the spot he had tortured. I wasn't expecting the touch, and a mewl fell through my lips before I had time to catch it. Both of our eyes widened, but he recovered much faster with the biggest smirk the bastard had ever made. I knew I was never going to live it down.

"Guess you are." See? Already he was going at it. But I didn't respond, because he started to move away from the spot. The rubbing inside of me no longer hurt, and I squirmed to try and get him to move faster. And apparently Sasuke wanted that too, because he didn't waste time before pushing back into me. I moaned over his grunt, and easily Sasuke got the hang of it. I panted at his concentrated look, groaned at the sharp thrusts, and muttered different versions of 'teme' and 'bastard' when he would purposely miss the bundle of nerves inside of me. My body arched off the bed when he finally gave into me, continuously hitting into that spot. Occasionally my vision would flash white, and I knew I was sharply reaching the end. Sasuke wasn't far behind from the way his hips started to lose their finesse.

"Tell me." It was the first time either of us had spoken a coherent sentence. I could barely make sense of his words, too far gone to care about words.

"H-huh?" Was that my voice? Shit, I sounded way too breathy.

"Say it. What you-" He shuttered against me, and it was then I realized he was holding back. But after a pause Sasuke slammed back into me, causing an undignified cry to pass my lips. "-you didn't say at the airport."

"N-now?!" I choked out, not believing it. Sasuke picked the most inconvenient times to get emotional!

"Say it." I shivered at the deep tone he growled into my ear. But there was no anger or force. He just sounded distressed, like he _needed _me to say it. Maybe he did need it. He had admitted it to me, and I had fumbled with words and done exactly what I hated. I had been trying to use my body to tell him what I felt. I felt blinded with the pleasure he was sending through my body, and I wrapped my arms around his neck to try and keep my mind focused on his voice. "Naruto, say it."

"I…" My eyes tightened in nervousness. If I said it, I was giving him the power to be with me. But I was also letting him have the choice to _leave _me too. Could I do it? I gasped for air while I looked up at Sasuke in fear. His eyes were half lidded but focused on mine. He had admitted he loved me. He had entered an art contest. He was going to art school. Sasuke was facing his fears. And wasn't I always saying I was just as good as Sasuke? Anything he could do… "I…love y-you! Fuck I-I love you!"

"Good." His hands held onto me tighter, picking up more speed than I thought possible. Not that I minded the overload of pleasure in my head. Within seconds I was careening over the edge, pressing my face into his neck while I came. He didn't have to do much to join me, already having been at his edge for a while. How he had managed to get that worked up I never figured out, but I didn't give a damn. Right then, all that mattered was how _good _it felt to finally let go. It was the most intense orgasm that I had ever felt, and it was enough to convince my pride that taking bottom wasn't so bad.

The bed was way too warm for my taste, but I didn't complain out loud. Sasuke still hadn't gotten out of my bed, which wasn't going to change until he felt ready. Bastard. The room probably smelt of sweat and sex, but really what was the difference? During sex, you sweat. So sweat was the smell of sex, wasn't it? My mind was too muddled to think straight.

"How late are we?" I asked, laying my head against his shoulder. He was hogging my pillow anyways, so I'd use that as an excuse if he asked.

"Half hour." I sighed, knowing I should have gotten up and showered. Or done something other than move closer to him. "She'll probably call in ten minutes."

"Let's wait." Because really, what was the point in rushing for the memories from two weeks ago?

Here with Sasuke, I felt like I was in Italy all over again.

**WHAAAAA! It's all over! I'm actually extremely sad by this. I had so much fun writing this story, and I'm happy that so many of you enjoyed it with me. Got to give a big thanks to my beta Sasuchan for sticking through it with me, even with my horrible grammar. She's a big help. **

**Now, I told you all that I couldn't tell you what made me think of this idea because it was special. But some of you guessed it or around it anyways. Yes, I went to Italy. All of these places were on my trip, which is where I got the idea for this story. And I took some of my own experiences from my trip and morphed them into the story. Like:**

**Chapter One:** Behind the Desk (my friends Aren and Mike, who are complete idiots), Card game (all of us!)

**Chapter two:** The bike dude (except he blew kisses at the boys instead), the shopping (I was all the guys, while my friends Kathryn Katie and Jess were the girls), Running up and seeing the sunset over the Spanish steps (Me and my friend Erik)

**Chapter three:** Pizza experience (Me and my friends Kathryn Jess and Katie), the dog (all of us kind of just…cried and stared), Pompeii (yup, even goofed around in the theatre like Lee and Neji), shoulder sleep thing (me and Erik…swear we're just friends though!)

**Chapter four:** Breaking of the bed (Kathryn broke my bed…-grumbles-), Sistine chapel (it's friggen amazing), the fish incident (I…hate…fish…-twitch-),

**Chapter five:** Getting gelato (YUMMY) hit on by guys (my friend Kathryn, who is also blonde), the run up to the castle (we all called it Mike's Hike since he led us)

**Chapter six:** Night club (our teachers got drunk though), chicken dance (…-sighs-), carousel (it was so much fun!), getting lost (me and my friend Jess…)

**Chapter seven:** The Love letter (me, I was just angry about relationships)

**Chapter eight:** Flooding of the bathroom (my friend Katie, though I cleaned it up), Gondolas (AMAZING)

**Chapter nine:** What I wish would happen to me…..=)

**And the rest came from my little head and plot bunnies. So I hope that you enjoyed the ending, and let me know what you thought of the story! What was your favorite part or who was your favorite character. Whatever you want really! And be on the lookout for new stories. As you may have seen, there was a poll in my profile about the next stories that I'm going to do. There will be another poll soon for my next set of stories, but this is the order:**

**Ferris Wheel, Tattoo, Succubus  
So be ready for more SasuNaruSasu stories! THANKS FOR READING! Niki**


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